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THE    EX-KAISER     IN    EXILE 


THE   EX-KAISER 
IN   EXILE 


BY 

LADY  NORAH  BENTINCK 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  >U5jr  YORK 
GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


CD 


UJ 


"^ 


^ 


FOREWORD 


"  It  was  rather  a  cessation  of  war  than  a  beginning  of  Peace." 
o  Tacitus. 


I  HAVE  received  many  letters  since  I  began  to 
write  the  articles  which  are  incorporated  in  this 
book.     Some  have  been  critical,  while  others,  on  the 

Nt    contrary,  have  been  of  the  most  charming  character. 

^         The  first  sort,  the  critical,  were  on  the  lines 
that  I  seemed  to  write  in  a  not  unsympathetic 

^  way  of  the  ex-Kaiser.  The  writers  remarked  that 
it  was  incomprehensible  to  people  who  had  lost 
dear  ones  in  the  War  that  I  should  put  the  chief 
instigator  of  all  its  horrors  in  a  favourable  light. 

Perhaps  these  critics — ^whose  views  I  respect 
exceedingly — ^thought  that  I  had  not  suffered  loss, 
and  was  therefore  not  in  a  position  to  feel  as 
acutely  as  they  did  that  the  treatment  meted  out 
to  WiUiam  ii.  in  Holland  was  too  good  for  him. 
May  I  be  allowed  to  mention  here  that  I  did 
suffer  loss  in  the  persons  of  my  youngest  brother, 
Robert  Noel,  Captain,  Royal  Fusiliers,  who  died  of 
illness  in  British  East  Africa  during  the  campaign 
of  von   Lettow-Vorbeck,  1918;    of  my  husband's 


i^.*y-i>./^i'-hc^ 


vi  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

brother,  Henry  Bentinck,  Major,  Coldstream 
Guards,  who  died  of  wounds  received  at  the  Battle 
of  the  Somme,  September  1916  ;  of  my  first  cousin, 
Maurice  Dease,  V.C.,  Lieutenant,  Royal  Fusiliers, 
who  was  killed  at  Mons,  23rd  August  1914  ;  and  of 
my  first  cousin,  Roger  Noel  Bellingham,  who  died 
in  France,  4th  March  1915.  These  two  cousins 
were  Irishmen. 

I  would  like  here  to  mention  that  in  his  recent 
book.  The  Lives  of  Francis  and  Riversdale  Grenfell, 
Mr.  John  Buchan  has  made  a  mistake.  He 
mentions  Francis  Grenfell  as  being  the  first  British 
officer  to  whom  the  great  honour  fell  of  earning 
the  first  V.C.  in  the  European  War. 

Gallant  Francis  Grenfell  fell  on  2Mh  August 
1914,  and  was  mentioned  in  the  Gazette  of  17th 
November  as  having  won  this  distinction,  whereas 
Maurice  Dease  was  killed  in  command  of  his  guns, 
holding  a  bridge  over  which  our  soldiers  were 
retreating,  at  Mons  on  23rd  August,  and  he  was 
mentioned  in  the  Gazette  of  16th  November  as 
having  been  awarded  the  V.C. 

So  the  unique  distinction  of  being  the  first 
officer  in  the  British  Army  to  win  the  Victoria 
Cross  must  be  transferred  from  Francis  Grenfell 
to  Maurice  Dease. 

I  have  tried  to  show  the  ex-Kaiser  as  impar- 
tially as  possible.  George  Mereditli's  fines  seem 
to  explain  better  than  any  words  of  mine  exactly 
what  I  mean  : 


FOREWORD  vii 

•'  I  have  studied  men  from  my  topsyturvy, 
Close,  and,  I  reckon,  rather  true. 
Some  are  fine  fellows  :  some,  right  scurvy  : 
Most,  a  dash  between  the  two." 

That  the  impressions  I  gathered  of  his  ideas  from 
the  people  amongst  whom  he  Hved  in  unique 
circumstances  for  eighteen  months  when  I  stayed 
at  Amerongen  last  summer  (1920)  should  have 
ever  materialised  into  articles,  much  less  should 
have  become  a  book,  was  unthought  of  by  me 
in  December  1920. 

Some  one  suggested  then  that  I  should  record 
these  impressions ;  that  they  would  be  of  interest 
as  a  tiny  mosaic  in  the  life-story  of  this  much- 
discussed  man,  and  that  when,  after  he  has  been 
gathered  to  his  fathers,  his  full  history  comes  to 
be  written  my  humble  chronicle  may  perhaps  not 
be  entirely  without  value. 

I  feel  it  is  presumptuous  that  I  should  set  down 
what  I  heard  and  saw  in  face  of  the  many  already 
existing  annals,  and  those  which  are  in  process 
of  being  written  by  persons  whose  knowledge  of 
the  character  in  question  highly  qualifies  them  for 
the  task. 

I  would  like  here  to  mention  that  I  never  took 
any  notes  for  the  making  of  this  book,  which  will, 
of  course,  be  obvious  from  my  explanation  of  how 
the  articles  came  to  be  written ;  neither  have  I 
ever  in  my  life  kept  a  diary,  so  that  all  which 
I  have  written  in  the  following  pages  is  from 
memory,  with  the  exception,  naturally,  of  the  his- 


viii  THE  EX-KxilSER  IN  EXILE 

torical  facts  taken  from  books  of  reference  and 
Memoirs  which  I  quote  in  the  text. 

One  word  more.  Many  waiters  in  their  Prefaces 
take  the  opportunity  to  thank  their  friends  for 
their  help  in  getting  data  and  facts  for  their 
work.  With  the  exception  of  the  Directors  of  the 
Weekly  Dispatch,  whose  courtesy  made  the  rather 
difficult  \vi'iting  of  the  articles  as  pleasant  as 
possible,  I  have  no  one  to  thank  !  And  so  I  will 
offer  my  gratitude  to  the  magnificent  British 
Navy  and  Army  for  giving  me  the  name  for  my 
book.  For  the  concrete  result  of  their  dogged 
and  gallant  fighting  with  the  help  of  our  Allies 
most  surely  is — The  Ex-Kaiser  in  Exile. 

Glorious,  lovely  old  England  !  I  have  travelled 
in  the  five  continents  and  I  have  never  seen  a 
country  to  equal  you  for  beauty  on  a  perfect  day 
in  June.  Once  more  your  splendid  sons  have 
been  victorious  and  have  shown  the  world  how 
dangerous  it  is  to  attack  their  Motherland.  You 
have  conquered  in  war  and  now  you  must 
conquer  in  peace.  "  If  England  to  itself  do 
rest  but  true."  This  can  be  done,  and  how  ? 
By  work. 

"  He  that  will  not  live  by  toil 
Has  no  right  on  English  soil." 

KiNGSLEY. 

For,  as  Henry  Newbolt  says,  "  The  work  of  the 
world  must  still  be  done."  And  if  we  do  each 
our   honest    share  we  will   keep  our   heritage   as 


THE  HON.  ROBERT  NOEL 

Captain,  Royal  Fusiliers.    Born    1888 — Died  1918 

at    Masassi.    B.E.A.,    on   active   service    European 

War.      Youngest    son    of    Charles    George    Noel, 

Earl  of  Gainsborough.      (i^Iy  brother.) 


Sec    page    17    (Foreword ). 


FOREWORD  ix 

Shakespeare  described  her  four  hundred  years  ago. 
In  reading  the  Hnes  it  is  impossible  not  to  be  struck 
with  dehght  and  wonder,  for  we  have  indeed  been 
able  to  keep  our  England  as  the  other  William 
(the  greatest  William)  described  her — ^when  most 
of  the  rest  of  Europe  has  crumbled. 

"  This  royal  throne  of  kings,  this  scepter'd  isle, 
This  earth  of  Majesty,  this  seat  of  Mars, 
This  other  Eden,  demi-paradise  ; 
This  fortress,  built  by  nature  for  herself. 
Against  infection  from  the  hand  of  war ; 
This  happy  breed  of  men,  this  little  world  ; 
This  precious  stone  set  in  the  silver  sea. 
Which  serves  it  in  the  office  of  a  wall. 
Or  as  a  moat  defensive  to  a  house. 
Against  the  envy  of  less  happier  lands  ; 
This  blessed  plot,  this  earth,  this  realm,  this  England  " 

King  Richard  ii. 

NORAH  BENTINCK. 

Yew  Tree  House,  Exton,  Oakham, 
1921. 


"The  Lord  also  spake  unto  Joshua,  saying,  .  .  . 
Appoint  out  for  you  cities  of  refuge,  .  .  . 
And  when  he  that  doth  flee  unto  one  of  those 
cities  shall  stand  at  the  entering  of  the  gate  of 
the  city,  and  shall  declare  his  cause  in  the  ears 
of  the  elders  of  that  city,  they  shall  take  him  in 
.  .  .  and  give  him  a  place,  that  he  may  dwell 
among  them. 

And  if  the  avenger  of  blood  pursue  after  him,  then 
they  shall  not  deliver  the  slayer  up  into  his 
hand;  .  .  ." — Joshua  xx.   1,  2,  S,  4, 

"  Then  ye  shall  appoint  you  cities  to  be  cities  of 
refuge  for  you ;  that  the  slayer  may  flee  thither, 
which  killeth  any  person  at  unawares. 
And  they  shall  be  unto  you  cities  for  refuge  from 
the  avenger ;  that  the  manslayer  die  not,  until  he 
stand  before  the  congregation  in  judgment." 

Numbers  xxxv.   11,  12. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


The  Ex-Kaiser  in  Exile       ....      Frontispiece 

The  ex-Kaiser  walking  in  the  grounds  at  Amcrongcn,  with  his 
Adjutant-General  Dommes. 

FACING    PAGE 

The   Hon.   Robert  Noel        .....      viii 
Captain,   Royal    Fusiliers.       Born   1888 ;    died   1 91 8  at  Masassi, 
B.E.A.,    on   active   service,    European   War.      Youngest   son   of 
Charles  George  Noel,  Earl  of  Gainsborough.     (My  brother.) 

Lady  Norah  Bentinck  .....  1 

Daughter  of  Charles  George  Noel,  Earl  of  Gainslxnough. 

Hans  Willem  Bentinck         .  .  .  .  .4 

1st  Earl  of  Portland.  Common  ancestor  tn  the  Counts  Bentinck 
and  the  Cavendish-Bentincks.     Born  1649;  died  1709. 

Charles  Anthony  Ferdinand  ...  .8 

5th  Count  Bentinck.  Lieut. -General,  Coldstream  Guards.  Born 
1793;  died  1864.  Served  in  Peninsular  War  and  at  Waterloo. 
Married  Countess  Mechtilde  of  Waldeck  and  Pyrmunt. 

Henry  .......         8 

6th  Count  Bentinck  (eldest  son  t)f  5th  Count).  Owner  of  Mid- 
dachten  till  1874,  when  he  resigned  his  birthright.  Lieut. -Colonel, 
Coldstream  Guards.     Born  1846  ;  died  1903. 

Captain  Robert  Bentinck     .  ,  .  .  .8 

Eldest  son  of  6th  Count.     Born  1875.     (My  husband.) 

Henry  Noel  Bentinck  .  .  .8 

Aged  9  months.     Born  1919.     (My  son.) 


xiv  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

FACING    PAGE 

MiDDACHTEN    .......  9 

Which  belonged  to  my  husband's  father  till  he  resigned  it  in  1874. 

Generals  who  came  from  Spa  with  the  Ex-Kaiser  .        l6 

Walking  outside  the  walls  of  Amerongen,  saying  "No,  no!"  to 
the  photographer. 

The  Ex-Kaiseh's  "  Sanctuary,"  Amerongen  .  .       24 

Showing  outside  moat. 

Amerongen    .  .  .  .  .  .  .24 

Showing  double  bridges — the  only  possible  access  to  the  house — 
thus  making  it  a  peculiarly  safe  retreat. 

Amerongen  (Front  View)       ,  .  .  .  .28 

Showing  the  steps  up  which  the  Emperor  walked  on  his  arrival  on 
November  nth,  1918. 

DooRN  House  .  .  .  .  ,  .28 

The  present  home  (1921)  of  the  ex-Kaiscr. 

Fac-simile    of   the    Abdication    signed   by  the   Ex-Kaiser 
AT  Amerongen        .  .  .  .  .  .32 

Room  where  Abdication  was  signed  .  .  .33 

The  Ex-Kaiser  in  Exile       .  .  .  .  .48 

The  ex-Kaiserin  hands  the  ex-Kaiser  a  cablegram  in  the  grounds 
of  Amerongen.  General  Dommes,  the  Adjutant  to  the  ex-Kaiser, 
is  the  other  figure. 

William  II.    .  .  .  .60 

Befbre  the  Great  War. 

William  II.    .  .  .  .60 

During  the  Great  War,  1914-1918. 

William   II.    .  .  .  .  .  .60 

After  the  Abdication 


ILLUSTRATIONS  xv 

FACING    PAGE 

Major  Henry  Bentinck  .  .  .  .64 

Coldstream  Guards.  Born  1881  ;  died  of  wounds  in  France,  1916. 
(My  husband's  brother.)  Third  son  of  Lieut. -Colonel  Count 
Bentinck  (6th  Count).  His  letters  have  been  published  under  the 
title  of  Letters  of  Major  Henry  Bentinck. 

Frau  von  Ilsemann   .  .  .  .  .  .112 

Geb.  Gravin  Bentinck. 

Hauptmann  von  Ilsemann  .  .  .  .112 

Adjutant  to  the  ex-Kaiser. 

On  their  wedding-day,  October  7th,  1920. 

Invitation  to  the  Bal-bei-hof  in  Vienna  .  .  .124 

Showing  the  mistake  made  in  the  writing  of  my  name. 

Programme  of  the  Dancing  ....     124 

At  the  Bal-bei-hof. 

Menu  of  the  Supper  .....     124 

At  the  Bal-bei-hof  in  Vienna  at  which  I  was  present.  It  is  identical 
with  that  used  during  the  reign  of  Maria-Theresa,  the  last  of  the 
Hapsburgs  (1717-1780).  Her  father  (Charles  VI.)  it  was  who 
conferred  a  Countship  on  the  Hon.  William  Bentinck  on  December 
24th,  1732. 

William  the  Silent  .  .  .  .  .  .148 

Prince  of  Orange.  Born  1533;  murdered,  1584,  by  Balthazar 
Gerard.  From  whom  by  his  third  wife,  Catherine  de  Bourbon, 
are  descended  the  ex- Kaiser  and  his  late  host.  Count  Godard 
Bentinck. 

/ 

Lady  Norah  Bentinck  .  .  .  .  .152 

With  her  children  Brydgytte  Blanche,  aged  3^,  and  Henry  Noel, 
aged  10  months  (1920). 


(Photo.  E.  O.  Hoppt'.l 
LADY   NORA II    lil':.\riN"CK 
(Daughter  of  Charles  George  Noel,  Earl  of  Gainsborough). 


CHAPTER  I 

"  I  would  merely  remai-k  that  history  blamed  the  Dutch  authori- 
ties who  surrendered  Charles  i.'s  murderers  to  his  son,  whilst  no 
blame  has  ever  been  attached  to  those  Dutchmen  who  honoured 
Charles  n.  when  he  was  a  refugee  in  Holland." — Sir  Walter 
TowNLEY  in  the  New  World,  September  192O. 

FoREWARNiNGS  may  often  be  given  to  us  without 
our  realising  their  significance.  Count  Godard 
Bentinck,  owner  of  Amerongen,  and  one  of  a 
shooting  party  on  a  neighbouring  estate  in  the 
second  week  of  November  1918,  could  not  account 
for  the  feeling  that  impelled  him  to  return  home 
with  his  daughter  on  Saturday  the  9th,  instead 
of  staying  over  the  Sunday  as  he  originally 
intended ;  but  he  obeyed  the  impulse  without 
at  the  time  thinking  much  about  it. 

At  two  o'clock  next  afternoon,  while  the  rain 
came  down  heavily  outside,  he  was  smoking  a 
cigar  in  his  library,  with  no  particular  preoccupa- 
tion to  disturb  his  peace,  when  a  servant  opened 
the  door  and  announced  that  a  telephone  call  had 
been  made  for  him. 

"  Where  from  ?  "  asked  the  Count. 

"  The  Hague,  Graaf ." 

Wondering  what  the  call  could  possibly  be 
about  (for  it  was  from  the  Dutch  Foreign  Office), 
he  hurried  downstairs, 

"  Count  Godard  Bentinck  ? "  he  heard  on 
taking  up  the  receiver. 

"  Yes  ;  what  is  it  ?  " 


2  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

"  The  German  Emperor  has  crossed  the  frontier. 
Will  you  take  him  in,  also  his  suite  of  about  thirty 
persons,  for  a  few  days  until  a  suitable  lodging  can 
be  found  for  him  ?  " 

Sometimes  in  life  supreme  decisions  have  to  be 
made — decisions  which  affect  the  whole  of  one's 
subsequent  life.  Mercifully  they  are  rare.  But 
on  this  day,  10th  November  1918,  when  the  tele- 
phone rang  at  Amerongen,  Count  Godard  Bentinck 
had  to  make  such  a  decision. 

This  was  indeed  a  thunderbolt !  He  stood  re- 
flecting for  a  few  minutes  on  all  the  implications 
of  the  request  ;  and  then  said  he  was  sorry  he 
could  not  oblige,  but  would  have  to  refuse. 
H<f  Here  was  news  to  stir  a  quiet  life  !  The  first 
intimation  of  the  crash  of  a  great  throne  with  the 
Emperor  a  fugitive  in  Holland.  And  particularly 
was  it  exciting  to  a  Bentinck. 

Before  going  any  further  I  propose  giving  a 
slight  account  of  Count  Godard  Bentinck's  family 
history,  as  it  is  a  somewhat  intricate  one,  and  it  is 
really  not  surprising  that  many  mistakes  have 
been  made  about  him  and  his  nationality  during 
the  last  years. 

Originally  the  Bentincks  were  purely  Dutch. 
They  date  from  the  twelfth  century,  when  they 
were  Knights  of  Guelderland,  and  they  have  never 
since  those  days  failed  in  the  male  line. 

Early  in  the  thirteenth  century  one  Wicherus 
Bcnting  (as  the  name  was  called  in  tliose  days)  was 
witness  to  the  signature  of  Bislioj^  W^illibold  of 
Utrecht  at  the  foundation  of  ZwoUe  in  1233.  He 
left  a  son,  Willem,  whose  son,  Ilelmich  Bcnting,  had 
five  sons  and  two  daughters.     The  fourth  of  these 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  3 

sons  was  Gerrit,  who  had  a  son  named  Hendrik.  This 
man  had  four  sons,  the  second  of  whom  was  Hendrik, 
who  owned  the  Castle  of  Bentinck  between 
Deventer  and  Zutphen,  near  Gorssel.  His  youngest 
son  was  again  called  Hendrik,  and  he  was  the 
owner  of  the  Castle  of  "  The  Loo  "  (now  belonging 
to  the  Queen  of  the  Netherlands).  And  so  they 
descended  from  father  to  son,  though  not  always 
through  the  eldest  son,  till  we  come  to  Henry  Baron 
Bentinck,  who  died  in  1639. 

He  had  a  large  family  consisting  of  six  sons 
and  two  daughters.  His  fifth  son  was  named 
Bernard,  or  Behrend,  and  his  home  was  at  Diepen- 
heim.  His  family  outdid  that  of  his  father,  his 
children  numbering  eleven,  sixl  of  whom  were  sons. 

The  third  son  was  called  Eusebius.  From  him 
is  descended  Guy,  the  present  Baron  Bentinck.^ 
He  is  an  Englishman,  and  served  in  the  Boer  War 
and  the  Great  War.  He  is  the  head  of  the  whole 
family  of  Bentinck,  representing  the  senior  branch. 

The  next  brother  of  Eusebius  Bentinck  and  the 
fifth  son  of  Bernard  was  Hans  Willem  Bentinck. 
He  was  born  in  1649,  and  during  the  reign  of  the 
Stadthalter,  William  of  Orange,  who  later  became 
William  iii.  of  England,  was  taken  into  the  Royal 
household  as  a  page. 

As  is  well  known,  he  became  a  great  man. 
"  Truest  and  noblest  friend  prince  has  ever  had  " 
were  the  words  by  which  Macaulay  described  him. 
When  William  iii.  went  to  England  he  took  with 
him  besides  Bentinck  two  other  Dutchmen — 
Keppel,  a  fascinating  courtier  whom  he  created 
Earl  of  Albemarle,  and  de  Reede  Ginkel,  a  soldier, 

*  1921. 


4  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

who  after  winning  the  battles  of  the  Boyne  and 
Athlone  for  his  Dutch  master  was  created  Earl  of 
Athlone.  He  was  the  owner  of  the  Castles  of 
Middachtcn  and  of  Amerongen. 

At  this  point  it  is  amusing  to  quote  from  an 
essay  called  "  The  Peerage  "  in  a  little  volume  by 
the  late  Right  Hon.  George  W.  E.  Russell,  entitled 
Collections  and  Recollections.  He  says :  "  The 
Revolution  of  1688  brought  its  own  element  into 
the  House  of  Lords,  and  descendants  of  William 
iii.'s  Dutch  valets  are  now  numbered  among  the 
dukes  and  earls  of  England  "  (!). 

Baron  Hans  Willem  Bentinck,  whose  family  had 
been  born  and  bred  Dutch  for  five  hundred  years, 
was  then  created  an  English  Earl  by  a  Dutchman 
who  had  usurped  the  English  throne,  and  married 
an  Englishwoman,  by  whom  he  had  two  sons.  The 
eldest  of  these  died  young,  and  the  second  son, 
Henry,  succeeded  to  the  family  honours.  He  was 
created  Duke  of  Portland  by  Queen  Anne,  and  he 
married  Lady  Elizabeth  Noel,  eldest  daughter  and  co- 
heir ^  of  Wriothesley,  second  Earl  of  Gainsborough, 
whose  father,  Edward  Noel,  Viscount  Campden, 
had  been  created  an  Earl  by  Charles  ii.  in  1661. 
He  was  also  Baron  Noel  of  Titchfield,  near  South- 
ampton, and  it  is  from  this  source  that  tlie  name  of 
Titchfield  came  to  belong  to  the  family  of  Portland. 

On  the  death  of  his  first  wife  in  1688,  Willem 
Bentinck,  Lord  Portland,  married  again,  his  second 
wife  being  Jane  Martha,  Dowager  Lady  Berkeley 
of  Stratton,  and  a  daughter  of  Sir  John  Temple, 

•  With  her  sister  Rachel,  who  married  the  second  Duke  of  Beau- 
fort. The  step-aunt  of  these  two  sisters  was  Lady  Catherine  Noel, 
who  became  first  Duclicss  of  Rutland. 


(From    a  picture    hv    Ris,aud    in   the   Louvre.) 
HANS  WILLEM  BENTINCK 

1st  Earl  of  Portland.      Common  Ancestor  to  the   Counts  Bentinck  and 
the  Cavendish-Bentincks.     Born   1649— Died    1709. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  5 

Bart.  By  her  he  had  one  son,  William,  who  was 
born  at  Whitehall  in  1704. 

Wlien  he  grew  up  he  returned  to  Holland  and 
reinstated  himself  as  a  Dutchman.  He  then  went 
to  Germany  in  search  of  a  wife,  and  he  eventually 
married  Charlotte  Sophie  of  Aldenburg,  a  reigning 
countess  in  her  own  right  .^ 

In  order  to  be  able  to  marry  her  (his  position 
as  an  Earl's  younger  son  and  a  Dutch  Baron  not 
being  considered  high  enough)  he  was  created  a 
Count  by  Charles  vi.  of  Austria,  who  was  also 
Roman  Emperor.^  He  was  the  father  of  Maria 
Theresa,  and  he  failed  in  his  endeavour,  through 
the  Pragmatic  Sanction,  to  secure  her  the  succession 
to  the  Imperial  Crown. 

This  is  the  reason  that  all  his  (William's)  de- 
scendants are  styled  Counts  of  the  Empire,  for  the 
man  who  originally  gave  the  title,  besides  being  a 
king,  was  the  lay  head  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire, 
which  historic  and  ancient  institution  was  given  the 
coup  de  grace  by  Napoleon  in  1804.  The  holding 
of  this  title  brought  him  and  his  family  into  close 
connection  with  Germany,  and  since  then  their 
nationality  has  been  a  vexed  question,  though 
many  of  them  were  English  by  birth  and  have 
served  both  in  the  English  Army  and  the  Diplo- 
matic Service  almost  continuously  since  1704. 
So  we  see  that  this  William  Bentinck  was  a  Dutch 
Baron,  an  English  Earl's  son,  and  a  Count  of  the 
Empire,    which    gave    him    and    his    descendants 

1  It  was  by  this  marriage  that  the  branch  of  the  Counts  Bentinck 
(of  which  my  husband  is — by  birth — the  head)  inherited  sovereign 
rights  in  Europe. 

*  Had  this  not  been  done  Charlotte  Sophie  would  have  had  to 
forfeit  her  sovereign  rights. 


6  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

nobility  in  England,  Holland,  Austria,  and  Germany. 
He  had  two  sons,  the  eldest  of  whom,  Christian 
Frederick,  Count  Bentinck,  is  the  direet  ancestor 
of  Count  Godard.  Christian  Frederick  married 
Baroness  Marie  de  Tuyll,  and  their  son  married 
Lady  Jemima  de  Recde  Ginkel,  daughter  of  the 
fifth  Earl  of  Athlone.  This  lady  had  a  sister 
Lady  Elizabeth  who  married  Mr.  Villiers,  and 
at  her  death  she  left  Amerongen  to  her  sister's 
youngest  grandson  Godard.  Thus  it  is  that  this 
now  famous  house  came  into  the  Bentinck  family. 

Lady  Jemima's  son  was  Charles  Anthony 
Ferdinand,  Count  Bentinck,  and  he  married 
Countess  Caroline  of  Waldeck-Pyrmont,  a  cousin 
of  the  Queen  Dowager  of  Holland  and  the  Duchess 
of  Albany.  Their  fourth  child  and  youngest  son 
is  Godard,  present  owner  of  Amerongen  and  host 
of  the  ex-Emperor  William  ii. 

So  it  will  be  seen  that  it  is  difficult  to  know 
where  exactly  to  pin  his  nationality,  as  although 
the  Bentincks  are  unquestionably  a  Dutch  family 
their  Countship  is  Holy  Roman  Empire  and  there- 
fore Teutonic. 

By  a  decree  of  the  German  Diet  in  1845  it 
recognised  the  rights  of  the  Counts  Bentinck  to 
the     dignities     of     the     mediatised  *    Houses     of 

'  Mediatisation. — The  deprivation  in  the  case  of  several  ecclesi- 
astical and  lay  principalities  of  Germany  of  their  sovereign  rights 
as  Imperial  free  States  in  the  years  1801-6,  by  making  tlicm  subject 
to  other  German  States. 

Thus  the  mediatised  Lords  (Seigneurs)  of  Germany,  whether 
Princes  or  Counts  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  have  rights  of 
equality  of  birth  with  the  Royal  Houses  of  Europe.  Such  families 
therefore  rank  higher  than  those  of  Battenberg,  Miinster,  Bliicher, 
Billow,  Bismarck,  Pless,  etc.,  who  are  described  as  Princely  Houses, 
"  non-souveraines  "  of  Europe. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  7 

Germany  with  the  style  "  Erlaucht,"  and  on  22nd 
April  1886  a  Royal  permission  was  granted 
to  this  family  to  bear  the  title  in  England, 
and  that  all  the  descendants  of  the  fifth  Count 
Bentinck  (my  husband  being  his  eldest  grandson) 
should  be  entitled  to  bear  the  title  of  Coimt  before 
their  Christian  names.  Count  Godard  Bentinck's 
father,  Major-General  Count  Bentinek  (fifth 
Count),  and  his  uncle.  General  Sir  Henry  Bentinck, 
both  commanded  the  Coldstream  Guards,  and  there 
are  memorials  to  them  in  the  Guards  Chapel. 

Count  Bentinck  commanded  the  2nd  Battalion 
in  1843  and  the  1st  Battalion  in  1846,  and  the 
same  year  he  commanded  the  regiment.  Sir  Henry 
Bentinck  commanded  the  2nd  Battalion  in  1846 
and  the  1st  in  1848.  In  1851  he  commanded  the 
regiment. 

In  Lieutenant-Colonel  Ross  of  Bladensburg's 
History  of  the  Coldstream  Guards  we  v  read  : 

"  The  Guards  Brigade,  consisting  of  3rd  Grena- 
diers, 1st  Coldstream,  and  1st  Scots,  reached 
Malta  en  route  for  the  Crimea  in  March  1854, 
commanded  by  Colonel  (afterwards  Major-General 
Sir  Henry)  Bentinck,  who  was  appointed  Brigadier- 
General  that  year. 

On  20th  June  1854,  when  the  Guards  Brigade 
was  at  Aladyn,  near  Varno,  Brigadier-General 
Bentinck,  together  with  Colonels  Hay  and  Cod- 
rington,  were  promoted  Major-Generals,  but  Ben- 
tinck continued  to  command  the  Guards  Brigade. 

On  24th  August  the  Brigade  embarked  for  the 
Crimea  under  Major-General  Bentinck,  and  was 
1st  Brigade  of  1st  Division,  which  was  commanded 
by  the  Duke  of  Cambridge.     Bentinck  commanded 


8  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

the  Guards  Brigade  in  the  Battles  of  Ahua  and 
Inker mann,  during  which  last  he  was  wounded. 

On  27th  August  1855  he  was  invested  with  the 
Order  of  the  Bath  in  the  Crimea  by  Lord  Stratford 
de  Redclyffe,  our  Ambassador  at  Constantinople. 
He  was  groom-in-waiting  to  Queen  Victoria  and 
a  Commander  of  the  Legion  of  Honour.  He  died 
in  1878.  His  wife  was  Renira  Antoinette,  daughter 
of  Sir  James  Hawkins-WTiitshed,  Bart.,  and  the 
present  ^  Duke  of  Portland  is  her  nephew. 

Godard  Bentinck's  eldest  brother,  Henry, 
Count  Bentinck,  was  also  in  the  Coldstream 
Guards.  By  a  family  arrangement  {traite  de 
famille)  in  1874  he  resigned  his  primogeniture,  and 
the  family  headship  honours  and  fortune  devolved 
on  to  his  next  brother,  William. 

During  the  War  my  husband,  who  is  the  eldest 
son  of  the  aforesaid  Henry,  Count  Bentinck, 
served  in  the  unattached  cavalry;  his  second 
brother,  Charles,  is  in  the  Diplomatic  Service  ;  and 
his  two  younger  brothers  were  in  the  family  regi- 
ment. Henry  died  from  wounds  received  at  the 
Battle  of  the  Somme,  September  1916,  in  the 
historic  Guards'  attack.  Of  this  memorable  feat  I 
should  like  to  quote  Mr.  Beach  Thomas,  who  was 
with  the  British  Army  in  the  field  on  16th  Sep- 
tember 1916 : — 

"  Among  others  who  earned  equal  fame  the 
Guards  have  gone  into  action,  have  won  new 
fame ;  and  many  names  known  through  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land  will  be  found  in 
the  roll  of  honour.  Something  of  the  spirit  of 
that  fight  should  reach  those  who  read  the  names. 

*  1921. 


FOUR  GENERATIONS 


:HARLES  ANTHONY  FERDINAND 

:h  Count  Bentinck.  Lieut. -General,  Cold- 
ream  Guards.  Born  1793  —  Died  1864. 
erved  in  Peninsular  War  and  at  Waterloo, 
lamed  Countess  Mechtilde  of  Waldeck 
nd  Pyrmont.  Count  Godard  Bentinck  is 
his  fourth   and    youngest   son. 


HENRY 

6th  Count  Bentinck.  (Eldest  Son  of  5th 
Count.)  Owner  of  Middachten  till  1874, 
when  he  resigned  his  birthright.  Lieut .- 
Colonel,  Coldstream  Guards.  Born  1846 — 
Died  1903. 


(Photo,  by  Speaight.J 
CAPTAIN   ROBERT  BENTINCK 
(Eldest  Son  of  6th  Count.)     Born  1875. 


(Photo,  by  Compton  Collier.) 
HENRY  NOEL  BENTINCK 
(Aged  9  months.)     Born  1919. 


u    u 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  9 

"  '  It  was  worth  living,  even  if  I  am  killed 
to-morrow,  just  to  have  seen  such  men  charge,' 
said  one  commanding  officer,  whose  speech  to  his 
men  after  action  will  be  remembered  all  their 
lives,  almost  syllable  by  syllable,  by  all  who 
heard  it.  Nor  in  war  at  any  time  is  any  scene 
more  moving  than  when,  the  battle  over,  a 
regiment  lines  up  under  some  shelter  in  the  misty 
dawn  to  take  toll  of  the  missing.  However  gaily 
men  fight,  at  that  moment  they  love  not  war. 
And  the  Guards  fought  the  gayest  fight  of  which 
ever  I  heard  news  or  any  troubadour  dreamed  ; 
and  fought  it  against  bitter  odds,  the  odds  of  an 
open  flank  ;  and  won,  inflicting  more  than  they 
suffered. 

"  For  the  first  time  in  history  three  battalions 
of  the  Coldstream  Guards  went  over  in  line. 
They  were  swept  and  raked  by  rifle  and  machine- 
gun  fire  from  many  directions,  and  all  the  while 
the  shells  fell  right  and  left.  For  200  yards  the 
blast  in  their  front  and  flank  was  enough  to  have 
stopped  a  locomotive.  It  did  not  stop  the  men. 
In  the  midst  of  this  blast,  of  a  sudden  they  came 
upon  a  trench  from  which  ranks  of  enemy  rose. 
The  sight  was  all  they  needed  to  add  the  last 
touch  to  their  fighting  spirit. 

"  The  enemy  fired  rifles  and  threw  bombs. 
The  Guards  used  only  the  bayonet.  Each  man, 
they  said,  got  his  man.  The  enemy  fought  now 
in  the  open  as  well  as  below  ground,  and  the  sight 
of  these  new  regiments,  body  to  body,  hand  to 
hand,  stabbing,  hitting,  even  wrestling,  so  stirred 
the  Irishmen  coming  up  in  support  that  they 
rushed  forward  at  the  double  to  take  their  part. 
Men,  N.C.O.s,  subalterns,  commanding  officers, 
doctors,  artillery  observers,  burst  into  an  in- 
credible shout,  smothered  by  the  noise  of  the  guns, 
but  like  the  swish  of  the  shells  savagely  inspiriting. 


10  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

"  The  enemy  had  fought  well.  He  thought 
he  could  stop  the  Guards  ;  but  the  bayonet  was 
HTesistible,  and  of  a  sudden  the  desperation  of 
the  struggle  broke.  '  We  flushed  'em  and  they 
rose  like  a  covey  of  partridges.'  The  battle 
became  a  chase.  The  prisoners  who  surrendered 
were  just  given  leave  to  hurry  back  without  escort 
to  our  lines,  and  took  the  permission  at  the  gallop, 
to  be  rounded  up  like  homing  sheep  away  behind. 
One  group  went  astray,  headed  off  in  its  nervous- 
ness by  other  advancing  troops,  before  it  was 
again  corralled  off  like  any  other  half-wild  animal. 
The  fight  and  the  chase  went  on,  morning,  day, 
and  evening.  Germans  rose  from  mysterious 
holes  and  picked  off  isolated  men.  One  Guards- 
man had  a  duel  at  sixty  yards  with  a  Bavarian 
sniper.  Each  fired  three  shots.  The  Guards- 
man's last  went  home  and  the  German  fell. 

"  All  this  while,  whether  advancing  or  stopping 
in  shell  holes  or  trenches,  officers  greeted  one 
another  as  if  they  were  meeting  in  Piccadilly, 
with  familiar  gi'cetings  and  Christian  names  and 
the  common  chaff  of  the  regiments. 

"Some  golden  moments  were  vouchsafed  in 
this  immortal  charge,  which  carried  the  Guards 
over  a  mile  and  more  of  shell-raked  and  bullet- 
raked  desert.  While  they  drove  the  Germans 
before  them  the  sun,  below  the  horizon  when 
they  started,  had  reached  high  noon.  It  lit  a 
new  landscape.  A  German  battery  was  seen  in 
action,  the  officers  taking  notes  and  the  gunners 
shovelling  shells  into  the  breech.  Enemy's  trans- 
port trailed  along  the  roads.  Undamaged  steeples 
rose  from  the  midst  of  peaceful  villages.  But  soon 
the  panorama  shifted  like  '  tlie  baseless  fabric  of 
a  vision.'  The  German  guns  limbered  up  and 
galloped  off.  The  transport  vanished,  and  just 
a  little  while  later  the  village  houses  toppled  and 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  11 

the  homesteads  merged  into  the  general  desolation 
of  war. 

"  Some  figures  emerge  from  the  ruck  of  battle 
in  almost  ghostly  silence.  An  officer  who  felt 
then  and  afterwards  that  he  had  never  lived  so 
splendid,  so  exhilarating  a  day  in  his  life — such 
men  do  really  exist — ^took  no  cover,  but  went 
exultingly  forward  to  any  nucleus  of  resistance 
he  could  discover.  He  killed  man  after  man,  some 
with  the  pistol,  some  with  a  stick. 

"One  of  his  men,  as  great  an  athelete,  if  less 
endowed  with  Valkyrie  spirit,  rushed  a  machine- 
gun  post,  shot  two  of  the  men,  bayoneted  a  third, 
and  '  caught  the  fourth  a  clip  with  my  fist.' 
Some  rival  of  another  company  then  claimed  the 
captive  machine  gun ;  but  the  Irishman  settled 
the  dispute  by  taking  the  weighty  thing  under 
his  arm  and  carrying  it  back  deliberately  across 
the  open.  He  did  not  stop  till  he  had  delivered 
it  personally  to  the  headquarters  of  his  unit. 
While  officers  greeted  one  another  with  the  natural 
exchange  of  social  phrase,  the  men  called  out 
hilarious  encouragement :  '  Go  it,  Lilly  whites,' 
'  Go  it,  Ribs,'  using  the  vocatives  of  the  playing- 
field.  But  all  day  and  night  it  was  bitter  fighting, 
as  every  man  and  every  officer  knew. 

"  The  enemy  ran,  but  it  was  not  allowed  to 
pursue  them.  I  heard  an  officer  apologise,  almost 
with  tears,  for  the  necessity  of  forbidding  too 
long  pursuit.  Trenches  occupied  were  often 
shallow  and  very  full — full  of  Germans,  some 
gibbering,  some  obsequious,  some  wounded  and 
crying  for  food  or  water,  some  quite  quiet ;  full, 
too,  of  fighters,  some  hale,  some  dead,  some 
wounded.  The  padre  was  all  day  in  the  front 
line  giving  religious  consolation  where  he  could ; 
and  at  night  helping  to  bury  the  dead.  Stretcher- 
bearers  tried  to  push  up,  and  when  unable  went 


12  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

into  the  open  without  fuss  or  hurry.  Shells  fell 
all  the  while — big  shells  iind  some  mysterious 
shells  smaller  than  the  three-inch.  Wounded  men 
were  taken  into  the  small  but  deep  dug-outs  that 
the  enemy  had  dug  in  this  loamy  soil.  In  some 
both  doetors  and  padres  found  hiding  Germans 
and  sent  them  hustling  off  to  the  rear. 

"  Through  it  all  order  reigned,  though  com- 
panies were  mixed  together  ;  and  one  bit  of  trench 
might  be  crammed  while  another  was  neglected. 
In  spite  of  all  this  crumples  were  smoothed  out. 
Officers  with  compasses  and  surveying  tools 
quietly  took  bearings,  and  orderlies  were  sent  back 
with  precise  messages.  Our  artillery  battered  a 
counter-attack  and  sent  a  German  battalion 
scattering  till  it  vanished  like  steam  from  an 
engine.  Patrols  went  forward.  Good  digging  was 
done.  Water  and  food  were  brought  up,  and 
here  and  there  astonishing  supplies  of  soda-water, 
bread,  and  coffee  beans  collected  in  German 
dug-outs. 

"  Numerous  prisoners  were  collected  in  the 
rear  and  safely  despatched.  The  difficult  position 
was  made  firm,  a  great  victory  registered." 

And  thus  it  was  that  Henry  Bentinck  received 
his  death. 

He  was  second-in-command,  and,  from  what  he 
said  later  in  hospital,  he  felt,  when  the  order  was 
given  on  the  previous  night  to  attack  at  —  a.m., 
that  his  hour  had  come. 

He  was  wounded  twice,  the  second  breaking 
his  thigh  just  above  the  knee. 

The  following  letter  he  dictated  to  his  sister 
from  the  hospital  in  Rouen,  where  he  died  on 
2nd  October  1916. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  18 

Curiously  enough,  my  son  Henry  was  born  on 
the  same  day  three  years  afterwards. 

"No.  2  Red  Cross  Hospital, 
A.P.O.  7.,  B.E.F., 

14/9/16. 

"  My  dear  Colonel, — I  can  only  say  that  I  am 
very  sorry  indeed  this  has  occurred.  I  hope  it 
may  not  be  of  too  long  duration. 

"  Soon  after  the  attack  commenced  I  was  hit 
in  the  head  by  shrapnel — slight — and  on  going 
about  two  or  three  hundred  yards  farther  I  was 
hit  through  the  right  thigh  with,  I  believe,  a  bullet. 
Two  stretcher-bearers  helped  me  back,  and  I  reached 
Rouen  on  Sunday.    They  had  the  leg  off  that  night. 

"  They  have  been  so  optimistic  with  their 
accounts  of  fancy  legs  after  my  first  gloomy 
thoughts  of  riding  and  soldiering  that  I  still  hope 
I  may  be  able  to  retain  the  Coldstream  uniform  " 
(his  darling  regiment,  as  he  often  refers  to  it  in 
the  Letters).  "  I  heard  you  were  fit,  and  hope  that 
is  correct.  Everything  else  here  is  disjointed.  I 
shall  be  glad  to  hear,  if  only  a  line,  from  you.  I 
wish  I  hadn't  left  you. — ^Yours  ever, 

"  Druce."  » 

(His  name  in  the  regiment,  on  account  of  the 
Portland-Druce  case  which  was  going  on  when 
he  joined  the  Coldstreams.) 

"  P.S. — I  feel  so  ashamed  at  everything — I 
couldn't  walk  after  I  was  hit  in  the  leg." 

The  following  note  was  found  in  his  Bible 
after  his  death,  addressed  to  his  sister. 

"  I  could  write  much,  but  I  haven't  time.  I 
am  very  happy,  and  wouldn't  miss  being  in  the 
3rd  Battalion  in  line  for  anything.  I  have  no 
idea  what  is  going  to  happen  to  me,  but  '  I  know 

1  From  Letters  of  Major  Henry  Bentinck. 


14  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

Wiom  I  have  believed,'  and  I  am  quite  safe  in 
His  hands.     Love  to  M.  and  all." 

So  one  is  content,  for  no  finer  end  could  be 
desired  for  a  Christian  and  a  soldier. 

The  fourth  son,  Arthur,  after  being  wounded 
in  East  Africa  in  January  1914  whilst  serving  in 
the  3rd  King's  African  Rifles,  was  again  severely 
wounded  in  September  1914  at  the  Battle  of  the 
Aisne,  having  gone  out  with  the  Coldstreams  at 
the  beginning  of  the  War  immediately  on  his 
return  from  Africa,  whence  he  had  come  to  recoup 
his  health.  He  is  still  with  his  regiment.  Two  of 
Count  Godard's  nephews,  the  sons  of  his  brother 
William,  were  in  the  German  Army ;  his  own  eldest 
son  belongs  to  the  Dutch  Diplomatic  Service  ;  and 
yet  another  was  in  the  German  Navy,  which  he 
was  forced  to  leave  at  the  Revolution,  which 
started  at  Kiel  on  6th  November.  The  fourth  son 
is  in  the  Dutch  Army. 

I  have  tried  to  show  how  mixed  and  inter- 
national the  Bentincks  are,  but  it  was  curious  that 
the  request  of  the  Dutch  to  harbour  the  German 
Emperor  should  have  been  made  to  a  man  whose 
father  and  grandfather  had  both  been  generals  in 
the  English  Ai'my,  and  whose  mother,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  a  Waldeck-Pyrmont  I  Strange  that 
both  guest  and  host  should  have  been  half  English. 

One  of  the  important  moments  of  which  we 
spoke  just  now  had  arrived,  and  this  man  had 
quickly  to  make  a  great  decision. 

Count  Godard  discussed  the  news  with  his  son, 
Count  Carlos,  and  his  daughter.  Countess  Elizabeth. 
One  thing  in  his  mind,  as  the  S.O.S.  call  on  behalf 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  15 

of  the  fallen  monarch  was  considered,  was  that  he 
was  an  hereditary  knight  of  the  Johanniter  Orden, 
a  Prussian  branch  of  the  Knights  of  St.  John  of 
Jerusalem,  of  which  the  Emperor  was  head,  and  of 
which  one  of  the  vows  made  by  members  was  to 
help  any  brother  Knight  in  adversity  and  distress. 
This  obligation  seemed  to  him  to  make  his  position 
very  difficult.  He  did  not  know  the  Kaiser  per- 
sonally, as  he  had  been  ill  when  that  monarch 
visited  his  elder  brother,  Count  Bentinck,  at 
Middachten,  in  1909 ;  and  later  he  heard  that 
when  told  it  had  been  arranged  for  him  to  go  to 
Amerongen  the  fugitive  had  asked,  "  Who  is  this 
Bentinck  ?     I  don't  think  I  know  him." 

Three  hours  after  the  first  call  another  message 
came  through  from  The  Hague.  This  time  he  was 
most  earnestly  requested  to  give  the  Kaiser 
sanctuary,  "  for  three  days  only."  The  Office 
had  not  been  able  to  make  any  other  arrangement. 
Count  Godard  pointed  out  that  he  had  no  coal,  no 
petrol,  and  not  enough  servants.  (Coal,  petrol, 
and  food  supplies  were  very  real  difficulties  in 
Holland  during  the  last  years  of  the  War.)  He  was 
promised  the  dispatch  of  a  truck-load  of  coal  that 
evening,  and  that  as  much  petrol  as  he  wanted  would 
be  supplied.  He  said  then  that  he  would  do  his 
best,  and  while  quite  realising  the  odium  he  would 
draw  upon  himself  from  many  sources,  he  decided 
to  give  the  Kaiser  "  sanctuary  " — "  sanctuary,"  a 
relic  of  Christian,  if  more  frankly  barbaric,  days. 

Every  one  set  to  work  to  prepare  the  Castle 
for  the  temporary  guests.  Count  Godard  had 
during  the  last  two  weeks  arranged  to  take  in 
a  large  number  of  Belgian  refugees,  and  had  made 


16  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

most  elaborate  arrangements  for  them  in  his  large 
and  airy  coachhouses.  This,  as  it  turned  out, 
was  lucky,  as  it  gave  him  a  good  many  extra  beds, 
with  bedding,  to  draw  upon  if  necessary.  Among 
other  servants  another  chef  was  sent  for  at  once. 

The  11th  of  November  broke  drab  and  dismal 
over  Amerongen.  Soon  after  luncheon  Count 
Godard  drove  off  alone  to  fetch  his  guest  from 
Maarn,  a  small  and  seldom-used  wayside  station 
about  seven  miles  away,  and  near  the  town  of 
Rhenen — ^the  church  steeple  of  which  town  inspired 
Rembrandt  to  some  of  his  greatest  etchings. 

The  days  immediately  preceding  this  date  had 
been  chaotic,  and  no  one  knew  from  one  moment 
to  the  next  exactly  what  would  happen.  On  6th 
November  1918  the  German  delegates  reached  the 
allied  line.  At  9.15  p.m.  on  the  7th  they  were 
directed  to  a  spot  near  La  Capelle.  Here  the 
blazing  searchlights  fell  upon  the  road.  The  firing 
ceased  and  the  delegates  passed  through.  At  9  a.m. 
on  the  8th  they  arrived  at  Rethondes,  where  Foch's 
Headquarters  lay  in  a  train  on  the  Compiegne- 
Soissons  railway.  Herr  a^rzberger,  the  Catholic 
deputy,  at  once  asked  for  an  immediate  armistice. 
Foch  refused,  and  then  read  out  slowly  the  terms 
on  which  one  would  be  granted.  The  Germans 
asked  for  seventy-two  hours,  as  they  couldn't 
accept  the  terms  on  their  own  responsibility. 

The  terms  were  sent  by  courier  to  the  German 
Headquarters  at  Spa,  where  they  arrived  at  10  a.m. 
on  10th  November.  When  these  terms  were  being 
considered.  Marshal  Ilindenburg  telegraphed  to 
Berlin  an  urgent  request  to  accept  all  terms  witliout 
delay,  as  he  could  not  undertake  to  hold  the  armies 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  17 

together  any  longer.  At  this  time  the  German  armies 
had  only  seventeen  divisions  in  reserve,  and  Sir 
Douglas Haig  described  the  enemy  as  being  "capable 
neither  of  accepting  nor  of  refusing  battle." 

When  in  the  Reichstag  Herr  Fehrenbach  read 
Hindenburg's  telegram,  Herr  Ebert  put  the 
question,  "Who  opposes  this  step?"  Whereupon 
**  followed  that  fearful  silence.  I  hope  I  shall  never 
again  experience  so  terrible  a  silence."  ^ 

When  the  Armistice  terms  arrived  at  Spa  the 
Emperor  had  gone  1  All  through  the  night  of  9th 
November  he  was  travelling  in  a  motor  steadily 
towards  Holland.  He  arrived  at  Eysden,  the  Dutch- 
Belgian  frontier,  at  8  a.m.  on  the  10th,  and  seeing 
a  soldier  loitering  about  he  walked  up  to  him, 
saying,  "  I  am  the  German  Emperor,"  at  the 
same  time  handing  the  amazed  fellow  his  sword  ! 
Tableau  !  For  the  moment  no  one  knew  what  to  do. 
But  mercifully  for  him  in  a  few  hours  his  special 
train  arrived,  and  in  it  he  sought  refuge  for  the 
remainder  of  the  day  and  the  following  night,  during 
which  time  plans  were  being  made  as  rapidly  as 
possible  for  his  future. 

While  the  Emperor  was  in  his  train  at  Eysden 
during  the  cold,  dark  morning  hours  of  the  11th 
November  ^  momentous  doings  were  taking  place 
at  Foch's  Headquarters. 

At  5  a.m.  on  that  day  the  Armistice  terms  were 
signed,  the  signatories  being  F.  Foch,  Erzberger, 
A.  Oberndorft,  Winterfeldt,  von  Salow,  and  R.  E. 
Wemyss.  It  may  be  of  interest  to  note  here  that 
the  only  English  signature  attached  to  this  historic 

*  Reuter  from  the  Rhenische  Wesifaelische  Zeitung. 
» 1918. 

3 


18  THE  EX-KjVISER  IN  EXILE 

document  is  that  of  a  Scotsman  and  incidentally 
a  relation  of  mine  ! 

Sii'  Rosslyn  Wemyss'  grandmother  was  Lady 
Emma  Hay,  sister  to  the  18th  Earl  of  Errol,  K.T., 
who  was  my  great-grandfather.  In  this  connection 
may  I  be  allowed  to  relate  a  little  family  history 
which  bears  somewhat  upon  the  subject  in  hand 
and  helps  to  weave  my  narrative  together  ? 

It  is  a  matter  of  history  that  King  William  iv. 
had  nine  children  by  Dorothy  Jordan  the  famous 
actress  of  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

Though  not  beautiful,  her  success  was  extra- 
ordinary, and  according  to  Boaden  the  secret  of 
her  unique  charm  lay  in  her  swindling  laugh. 

Hazlitt  said  of  her,  "  Mrs.  Jordan's  laugh  comes 
over  the  heart,  and  if  it  has  grown  dry  and  seared 
it  fills  it  with  remembrance  of  joy  and  gladness 
once  more "  ;  and  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  whose 
favourite  actress  she  was,  declared  that  she  laughed 
from  "  sheer  wildness  of  delight." 

Of  herself,  she  said  :  "  I  heard  the  audience 
laugh  at  mc,  and  I  laughed  myself :  they  laughed 
again,  and  so  did  I.'* 

Few  actresses  can  have  been  admired  by  so 
varied  a  band  as  the  following  :  Byron,  Leigh 
Hunt,  Hazlitt,  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  Romney, 
Haydon,  Crabb  Robinson  (who  described  her  and 
Mile.  Mars  as  the  types  of  woman's  fascination), 
John  Kemble,  Lord  North,  and  the  Prince  Regent. 
How  ironical  that  this  woman  who  made  herself 
loved  and  immortal  by  her  seductive  and  irresistible 
laugh  should  have  died  forsaken  in  Paris  in  such 
great  misery  that  she  could  not  even  shed  a  tear !  * 

*  See  Mrs.  Jordan,  by  Philip  VV.  Sergeant. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  19 

Let  me  quote  from  Leigh  Hunt's  clever  and 
sympathetic  pen  picture  of  her,  and  then  in  a 
second  we  can  visuahse  her. 

"  There  was  one  comic  actress  who  was  Nature 
herself  in  one  of  her  most  genial  forms.  This  was 
Mrs.  Jordan,  who,  though  not  beautiful  nor 
handsome  nor  even  pretty  nor  accomplished,  nor 
'  a  lady  '  nor  anything  conventional  or  comme  il 
faut  whatsoever,  yet  was  so  pleasant,  so  cordial,  so 
natural,  so  full  of  spirits,  so  healthily  constituted 
in  mind  and  body,  had  such  a  shapely  leg  withal, 
so  sweet,  mellow,  charming  and  loving  a  voice 
and  such  a  happy  and  happy-making  expression 
of  countenance  that  she  appeared  something 
superior  to  all  those  requirements  of  acceptability, 
and  to  hold  a  patent  from  Nature  herself  for  our 
delight  and  good  opinion.  .  .  .  She  made  even 
Methodists  love  her.  .  .  .  The  very  sound  of  the 
little  familiar  word  bud  (her  abbreviation  for 
husband)  from  her  lips  as  she  packed  it  closer  as  it 
were  in  the  utterance  and  pouted  it  up  with  fondness 
in  the  man's  face,  taking  him  at  the  same  time  by 
the  chin,  was  a  whole  concentrated  world  of  the 
power  of  loving." 

In  1831  the  King  was  pleased  to  grant  the  title 
and  precedence  of  the  younger  children  of  a 
Marquis  to  his  family  by  this  lady.  His  eldest 
son  was  elevated  to  the  peerage  as  Earl  of  Munster 
by  letters  patent,  with  special  remainder  in  default 
of  his  own  male  issue  to  his  brothers,  the  Lords 
Frederick,  Adolphus,  and  Augustus  Fitzclarence. 

Their  sister,  Elizabeth,  married  the  18th  Earl 
of  Errol  (who  incidentally  is  the  first  subject 
in  Scotland  after  the  Blood  Royal),  and  they  had 


20  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

one  son  and  three  daughters,  the  eldest  of  whom 
married  my  grandfather,  Lord  Gainsborough  ;  the 
second  daughter  married  the  5th  Earl  of  Fife 
(her  granddaughter  becoming  Princess  Arthur  of 
Connaught);  the  third  daughter  married  Count 
Stuart  d'Albanie. 

The  following  is  a  letter  from  my  grandmother 
(Lady  Ida  Hay),  at  that  date  Viscountess  Campden, 
to  my  grandfather  : 

"Chateau  db  Sayn,  Coblbntz, 
August  I,  1864. 

"  My  dearest  Lord, — ^You  will  be  surprised  at 
the  date  of  this  letter.  I  came  here  on  Saturday 
to  meet  the  Queen  of  Prussia,^  and  this  afternoon 
I  return  again  to  Ems  with  Blanche.^  This  place 
is  charming,  not  large  but  beautifully  situated, 
perfectly  arranged,  and  finished  with  the  utmost 
taste.  There  are  some  fine  modern  pictures  and 
a  great  deal  of  beautiful  oak  carving. 

"  The  party  staying  in  the  house  are  Count 
Pahlen  (whom  you  know),  the  Due  de  Rohan 
(whom  you  remember  in  Paris),  and  the  Due  de 
Cajianello.  Prince  Wittgenstein  is  growing  older 
and  his  hair  very  white  ;  he  is  a  charming  host. 
She  is  as  charming  as  ever  and  still  very  handsome, 
though  her  beauty  has  waned  a  good  deal.  She 
asked  much  after  you. 

"  Yesterday  the  Queen  arrived  at  five  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  from  Coblentz.  She  was  accom- 
panied by  the  Prince  of  Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, 
the  father  of  the  late  Queen  of  Portugal  and 
brother-in-law  of  tlie  Duchess  of  Hamilton,  and 
attended  by  two  ladics-in-wniting  and  one  gentle- 

^  Wife  of  King  William  r.,  first  German  Emperor,  and  grand- 
mother of  the  ex-Kaiser. 

»  Lady  Blanche  Noel,  my  aunt. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  21 

man,  Count  Waldeck.  I  went  In  to  dinner  with 
Count  Waldeck,  and  sat  on  the  left  of  Prince 
Hohenzollern.  After  dinner  the  Queen  talked  to 
me  a  great  deal.  She  spoke  of  my  mother  ^  and 
of  Lord  Frederick,  Lord  Adolphus,  and  Lady 
Mary,^  all  of  whom  she  had  known ;  also  of  the 
Duchess  of  Saxe- Weimar,  who  was  her  aunt  by 
marriage.  She  remarked  that  I  had  the  name  of 
Ida  from  the  Duchess  of  Saxe- Weimar.  .  .  .  She 
is  still  wonderfully  handsome  and  a  splendid  figure, 
and  has  the  most  perfect  manners  I  ever  saw — 
gracious,  dignified,  fascinating,  and  gentle  all  at 
once.  Full  of  conversation,  brilliantly  clever, 
quite  a  Royal  lady  in  beauty,  intellect,  and  in 
deportment,  Blanche  looked  charming,  and  her 
shiny  golden  hair  is  specially  admired.  Count 
Waldeck  is  enraptured  with  her,  and  told  me  she 
was  *  une  veritable  figure  de  keepsake,'  like  '  a 
lovely  little  vignette,'  and  her  proficiency  in 
German  enchanted  them  all.  .  .  . 

"  The  weather  here  is  dreadfully  hot. 

"  God  bless  you  always. — Your  devoted  wife, 

"  Ida  Campden." 

It  struck  me  as  a  curious  coincidence  that  in 
this  letter  of  my  grandmother's  the  grandmother 
of  the  ex-Emperor  should  figure  so  conspicuously, 
and  also  that  special  mention  should  have  been 
made  of  Count  Waldeck. 

On  looking  him  up  in  the  Almanack  de  Gotha 
of  1862  I  see  him  described  as  Count  Adalbert 
William  Charles,  and  that  he  married  in  1858  (six 
years  before  the  date  of  the  letter)  Princess  Caroline 
of  Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein.  So  I  gather 
that  he  was  the  brother-in-law  of  my  grandmother's 

1  Lady  Elizabeth  Fitzclarence. 

*  Lady  Mary  Fitzclarence  married  General  Charles  Richard  Fox. 


22  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

host.  His  sister.  Countess  Caroline  of  Waldeck- 
Pjrrmont,  married  my  husband's  grandfather  and 
became  the  mother  of  Count  Godard  Bentinck, 
the  ex- Kaiser's  host. 

And  now,  after  having  looked  back  into  the 
past  for  over  half  a  century,  we  will  return  to 
William  ii.  sitting  a  fugitive  in  his  train  at  Eysden. 

The  Royal  train  was  due  to  arrive  at  Maarn 
at  about  3  p.m.  on  the  llth.^  Count  Lynden 
was  first  of  all  approached  and  asked  to  give  the 
Emperor  hospitality  for  a  few  days,  but  he  had 
found  it  impossible  to  comply  with  the  request. 
Count  Godard  Bentinck's  name  was  then  mentioned, 
as  we  have  seen,  and  "  on  the  second  time  of 
asking  "  he  complied. 

Rumour  had  conquered  secrecy,  and  a  goodly 
number  of  people,  peasants  and  others,  had 
gathered  in  the  station  yard  to  witness  the  arrival. 
Nobody  was  allowed  on  the  platform  excepting 
Count  Lynden,  who  is  the  Governor  of  the  province 
of  Utrecht,  Count  Godard  Bentinck,  and  the 
station  officials.  The  rain  poured  steadily  down, 
and  the  two  men  walked  up  and  down  the  swimming 
platform,  while  the  stolid,  expressionless  faces 
peered  at  them  through  the  dripping  iron  railings 
Then  a  soft  puffing  was  heard,  and  rather  slowly 
the  Imperial  train  steamed  into  the  station. 

Immediately  it  pulled  up  the  ex-Kaiser  in 
uniform  and  carrying  a  cane  stepped  briskly  to 
the  platform  and  came  straight  up  to  the  Governor 
and  Count  Godard,  shook  hands  with  both,  and 
exchanged  a  few  words  of  greeting,  of  which  one 
sentence  was,  according  to  the  Times  correspondent, 

*  November  191 8. 


i 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  23 

"  Denn  was  sagen  Sie  dazu  ?  "  Then  Count 
Godard  led  the  way  to  his  closed  car,  and  almost 
before  the  silent  crowd  had  realised  that  the  Kaiser 
had  come  and  gone  the  little  party  was  speeding 
towards  Amerongen.  Behind  them  a  great  bustle 
began,  as  the  suite  descended  from  the  train  to 
unpack  their  master's  and  their  own  belongings. 
Large  quantities  of  food  and  wine  had  been 
brought. 

During  the  drive  through  the  rain  to  Amerongen 
the  Kaiser  spoke  very  little.  A  few,  a  very  few, 
conventional  remarks  were  all  that  passed.  No 
doubt  he  was  still  stunned  by  the  sudden  cata- 
strophe to  his  House,  fatigued  by  the  journey, 
and  anxious  to  reach  a  haven. 

At  last,  in  the  failing  light,  the  car  drew  up 
at  the  Castle.  And  as  he  crossed  the  bridge  over 
the  inner  moat  to  the  main  door,  relief,  obvious 
and  deep,  at  the  successful  end  of  his  journey 
from  the  bewildering  transformation  scene  at  Spa 
to  the  restful  quietude  of  Amerongen,  found 
expression — in  a  way  that  would  have  sounded 
very  unlikely  to  British  ears. 

"  Now,"  he  said  to  Count  Godard,  rubbing  his 
hands  together,  "  give  me  a  cup  of  real  good 
English  tea ! "  Count  Godard  smilingly  assured 
him  he  would  get  it. 

Within  the  hall  Count  Godard's  eldest  son  and 
only  daughter,  Count  Carlos  and  Countess  Eliza- 
beth, and  his  elder  brother.  Count  Charles  Bentinck, 
with  his  daughter.  Countess  Marie  Bentinck,  were 
gathered  to  meet  the  Kaiser.  Brief  introduc- 
tions and  greetings  over,  he  was  taken  up  to  the 
suite  of  rooms  made  ready  for  him. 


24  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

The  "  real  good  tea,"  but  Scottish  rather  than 
English,  came  quickly.  There  is  among  the 
treasures  at  Amerongen  a  Scottish  housekeeper, 
an  adept  in  the  preparation  of  the  substantial  and 
appetising  scones,  pancakes,  shortbread,  and  so 
on,  that  every  one  who  crosses  the  Border  enjoys 
at  "  high  tea  "  at  some  time  or  other.  Since  that 
introduction  to  them  the  ex-Kaiser  has  delighted 
in  them. 

That  evening  about  forty  people  sat  down  to 
dinner  at  Amerongen.  The  table  was  profusely 
decorated  with  flowers  from  the  Castle  gardens, 
and  the  guests  ate  off  silver  plates,  dated  about 
1700,  and  bearing  the  arms  of  the  Aldenburg 
family,  which  is  in  reality  the  same  as  that  called 
Oldenburg  to-day,  into  which  one  of  the  ex- 
Kaiser's  sons  married.  The  interior  of  the  Castle 
was  scarcely  recognisable  ;  for  the  household  was 
one  of  the  quietest  in  the  country,  Count  Godard 
taking  no  part  in  political  life  and  little  in  ordinary 
society  functions. 

During  the  preceding  hours  the  Castle  and 
outbuildings  were  in  a  whii-1  with  the  arrival  of 
the  suite  and  baggages  and  stores.  Rooms  were 
provided  for  as  many  as  possible  of  the  suite, 
and  accommodation  was  found  in  the  village  near 
by  for  the  remainder  ;  quantities  of  the  stores 
were  packed  in  the  stables. 

Perhaps  it  was  fortunate  for  the  fugitive  that 
there  was  this  unavoidable  bustle  and  excitement. 
It  gave  a  certain  amount  of  animation  to  a  meal 
which,  if  only  a  few  had  been  there,  could  hardly 
have  escaped  an  atmosphere  of  gloom.  As  it  was, 
nobody   had   quite  got   his   bearings.     The  usual 


EX-K  M.^l.U  .-.      >\.\(    M     \K\,     A,\ll'Jv().\(.l-..\ 
Showing:  outside  moat 


AMERONGEN 

Showing  double  bridges — the  only  possible  access  to  the  house — 

thus  making  it  a   peculiarly  safe  retreat. 

See  page   23 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  25 

deference,  of  course,  was  paid  to  the  chief  guest 
by  all  the  suite  ;  but  a  certain  abstractedness  was 
occasionally  apparent. 

The  Kaiser  himself  did  his  best  to  keep  things 
going,  and  talked  a  good  deal  and  with  much 
animation.  No  word  of  bitterness  or  reproach 
was  heard  from  him,  and  this  fact  particularly 
struck  Count  Godard.  "  Never,"  he  told  me, 
"  from  that  day  to  this  has  a  bitter  word  of  any 
one,  German  or  English,  fallen  from  his  lips,  with 
the  sole  exception  of  Prince  Max  of  Baden,  of 
whom  he  remarked,  '  Max  von  Baden  ist  hinter  mir 
gegangen  '  (Max  of  Baden  has  tricked  me  behind 
my  back)."  This  was  an  allusion  to  the  fact  that 
Prince  Max,  who  was  Imperial  Chancellor  at  the 
time,  had  issued  a  decree  on  9th  November  that 
the  Kaiser  had  abdicated — ^though,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  he  did  not  do  so  till  28th  November. 
It  was  this,  with  British  propaganda,  that  he 
believed  helped  to  make  his  position  in  Germany 
impossible  ;  the  people,  naturally  accepting  what 
their  newspapers  told  them,  believed  that  the 
Emperor  had  forsaken  them,  and  this  aroused 
bitter  feeling. 

From  his  rooms  the  Kaiser  could  see  over  the 
treetops  the  masts  of  ships  passing  slowly  up  and 
down  the  Rhine,  for  this  river  runs  only  about  a 
mile  from  the  house. 

Amerongen  is  withdrawn  some  distance  from 
the  main  road  between  the  towns  of  Ai'nhem  and 
Utrecht,  in  a  backwater  of  the  country,  as  it  were. 
This,  of  course,  made  it  peculiarly  suitable  as  an 
unofficial  prison-retreat.  The  Castle,  a  brick 
building  of  four  storeys,  which  replaced  the  original 
4 


26  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

Castle  destroyed  by  fire  nearly  two  and  a  half 
centuries  ago,  has  large,  lofty,  well-proportioned 
rooms,  marked  by  a  solid  comfort  and  dignified 
by  many  art  treasm-es.  It  is  surrounded  by  two 
moats,  one  round  the  walls,  the  other  at  a  distance 
of  a  hundred  yards.  From  the  windows  of  their 
quarters  the  servants  could  fish  in  the  moat. 

For  the  Royal  couple  (the  ex-Kaiserin  was 
expected  soon)  a  suite  of  four  rooms  had  been 
prepared  at  the  back  of  the  Castle.  They  are  all 
large  and  high-ceilinged ;  and  the  walls  are 
covered  with  painted  canvas,  on  which  are  little 
vignettes  with  flowered  borders.  The  furniture 
is  chiefly  Dutch,  but  with  a  great  deal  of  French 
(Louis  Quinze  chiefly)  and  English,  and  there 
are  many  Chinese  pieces ;  all  is  arranged  with 
an  admirable  taste  that  gives  to  the  beautifully 
proportioned  chambers  an  appearance  of  dignified 
calm. 

In  one,  a  narrow  four-poster  bed,  its  slender 
posts  hung  with  beautiful  blue-grey  silk  brocade, 
catches  the  eye.  It  has  given  rest  to  two  of  the 
most  talked-of  monarchs  in  history  ;  for  it  was 
that  used  by  Louis  xiv.  in  three  out  of  the  six 
weeks,  beginning  in  May  1672,  in  which,  with  the 
great  Conde  and  Turenne,  he  conquered  half  the 
Netherlands.  That  was  in  the  earlier  days  of 
his  splendour,  and,  no  doubt — ^taking  into  account 
the  official  bedroom  receptions  of  those  days — it 
figured  in  many  a  gay  and  glittering  gathering, 
as  well  as  grave  and  urgent  council.  If  furniture 
could  speak — but  we  will  allow  each  one  who 
looks  upon  it  to  make  his  own  reflections  on  this 
link  between  the  two  "  L'etat,  c'est  moi  "  rulers. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  27 

one  in  the  heyday  of  his  fame,  the  other  in  the 
most  mortifying  moment  of  his  decline. 

I  began  this  chapter  by  mentioning  the  curious 
unrecognised  forewarning  Count  Godard  received 
on  10th  November.  I  will  end  by  recalling  a 
strange  little  omen,  linking  the  Kaiser  with  the 
Bentinck  family.  Wilhelm  ii.,  on  9th  August 
1909,  had  visited  Count  Bentinck  (Count  Godard's 
eldest  brother)  at  his  castle  at  Middachten.  The 
Kaiser  arrived  at  about  five  o'clock,  and  his  train 
remained  in  the  little  station  at  Steeg,  which  was 
gaily  decorated  with  Dutch  and  German  flags. 
The  day  was  a  hot  and  stifling  one,  and  a  violent 
storm  suddenly  burst.  Strange  to  say,  the  only 
flag  which  was  torn  from  its  post  and  flung 
violently  to  the  ground  was  the  German  one. 

The  incident  was  discreetly  commented  on  at 
the  time,  but  since  the  Revolution  and  the  coming 
together  again  under  such  strange  circumstances 
of  a  Hohenzollern  and  a  Bentinck  it  has  struck 
people  more  forcibly,  for  the  omen  seemed  indeed 
to  have  been  symbolic  of  what  the  future  held. 


CHAPTER  II 

"  Do  you  deserve  to  be  regarded  as  a  blameless  person,  stalwart 
for  the  right  in  words  and  in  deeds  ?  " — Juvenal. 

*'  Three  days "  had  been  the  period  suggested, 
off-hand  and  very  hurriedly,  for  the  ex-Kaiser's 
stay  at  Amerongen  ;  but  it  was  almost  at  once 
recognised  that  this  provisional  arrangement  would 
have  to  be  extended. 

The  truth  was  that  no  one  in  high  authority 
knew  quite  what  to  do  with  the  fugitive;  the 
outcome  of  the  chaos  in  Germany,  where  minor 
thrones  were  collapsing  and  old  institutions  being 
uprooted  daily,  could  not  be  foreseen,  and  the 
revolutionary  ferment  even  in  staid  Holland  was 
causing  considerable  disquietude  ;  and  so  no  better 
solution  of  the  embarrassment  which  the  ex- 
Kaiser's  arrival  had  thrust  upon  the  Dutch  could 
be  found  than  that  he  should  remain  as  quietly  as 
possible  in  the  isolated  and  peaceful  residence  of 
Count  Godard  Bcntinck  until  the  situation  cleared. 

Whether  or  not  the  fugitive  himself  suggested 
the  probable  number  of  days  of  his  stay  I  do  not 
know;  but  one  may  draw  one's  own  deductions 
from  the  fact  that  some  time  later  he  remarked 
musingly  to  his  host,  "  How  strange  it  is  !  I 
have  until  now  never  stayed  in  any  man's  house 
for  more  tlian  tliree  days,  and  witli  you  I  have  been 
for  months  !  " 

28 


W' 


->f?^ 


■U   «  ":||  ;ii   11:  U' 


~ 


1   ^'%. 


AMERONGI \ 


I     I'M    1\    I         \    I  I     W 


Showing  the  steps  up  which  the  Emperor  walked  on  his  arrival 
on  November   i  ith,    1918.  •'^-^w  ^tie   c^yi^,      ■ 


DOORN   MOUSE 
The  present  home  (1921)  of  the  ex-Kaiser. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  29 

I  have  used  the  word  "  peaceful  "  in  describing 
Amerongen,  but  that  adjective  has  ceased  to 
apply  to  the  quiet  old  Dutch  house  since  11th 
November  1918.  Of  course  that  month  was  a 
more  than  usually  unpeaceful  time.  Within  the 
grounds  the  suite  brought  day-long  bustle ;  without, 
in  the  village,  every  available  room  was  filled,  and 
the  innkeeper  did  a  splendid  trade.  Motor-cars 
dashed  backwards  and  forwards,  aeroplanes  whirled 
overhead.  Press  representatives  from  all  parts  of 
the  world  flocked  to  the  gates — but  no  farther  than 
the  gates.  Only  the  central  figure  was  hidden. 
No  better  protected  retreat  for  him  than  the  tree- 
surrounded  Castle  within  its  double  moat  could 
have  been  found  in  Holland. 

A  strong  military  guard  had  been  posted  at 
Amerongen  before  the  fugitive's  arrival,  and  from 
that  time  no  one  was  allowed  to  pass  unless 
furnished  with  a  special  "  permit." 

At  the  outer  entrance,  where  the  walls  meet 
the  gates,  there  is  a  large  brick-floored  orangery, 
and  this  was  used  as  a  guard-room.  Here  an 
authorised  visitor  was  given  a  white  card  with  his 
or  her  name  written  in  full  on  it  (no  card  being 
given  unless  the  name  had  been  "  passed  "  by 
Count  Godard).  Passing  up  the  avenue  and  over 
the  outer  moat,  the  visitor  yielded  the  white  card 
at  the  inner  gate  to  the  ofiicer  in  charge  of  the 
second  detachment  of  soldiers,  and  received  a  blue 
one  in  exchange.  This  was  the  last  formality 
before  entering  the  Castle.  On  returning,  the 
visitor  gave  up  the  blue  card,  and  was  then  free 
to  leave  the  grounds. 

All  relatives  and  friends  of  the  family  had  to 


30  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

go  tlirough  this  formality  every  time  they  visited 
Amerongen.  This  was  only  a  check  on  visitors 
from  outside  though,  the  members  of  the  household 
and  the  entourage  being  too  well  known  to  require 
such  a  "  pass." 

Both  the  gates  were  securely  fastened  every 
evening,  and  during  the  dark  hours  Amerongen 
held  its  fugitive  safely  away  from  the  outside 
world.  His  safety  was  made  doubly  sure  by  the 
fact  that,  when  frosts  came,  the  ice  round  the  inner 
moat  (where  no  skating  was  allowed)  was  broken 
regulaily  every  night. 

Now  that  the  ex-Kaiser  has  left  there  are,  of 
course,  no  more  guards,  and  so  there  is  nothing  to 
stop  the  inquisitive  motorist  turning  off  the  high 
road  and  darting  over  the  moat  past  the  house  and 
out  again,  in  order  to  see  the  now  famous  refuge 
of  William  ii.  Such  an  occurrence  happened 
when  I  was  there,  and  is  a  cause  of  considerable 
annoyance  to  the  family  and  their  guests. 

At  Amerongen  the  post  of  Burgomaster  was 
held  by  a  friend  of  the  Bentinck  family  (parishes 
are  much  larger  in  Holland  than  in  England,  and 
the  post,  which  corresponds  roughly  to  that  of  a 
mayor  or  chairman  of  a  county  council,  is  some- 
times held  by  county  gentlemen),  and  he  naturally 
had  much  to  do  with  arrangements  without  the 
gates  ;  but  everything  relating  to  the  guarding  of 
the  ex-Kaiser  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Governor 
of  the  province  of  Utrecht. 

Many  mysterious  visitors  sought  an  entrance, 
and  once — ^but  that  was  at  a  later  period  than 
that  which  I  am  now  describing — a  man  drove 
through  the  gates  in  a  shabby  old  hired  brougham, 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  31 

although  he  apparently  had  no  "  pass."  The 
bewilderment  and  annoyance  were  great,  and  how 
he  had  managed  to  enter  remained  a  puzzle. 

Though  the  merely  curious  were  kept  back  at 
the  gates,  contact  with  the  outer  world  was 
constant  and  feverish  in  these  early  days.  Prince 
Max  of  Baden  had  on  9th  November  announced 
that  the  Kaiser  had  abdicated,  but  the  exile  himself 
had  made  no  formal  renunciation  of  his  rights. 
How  and  when,  if  at  all,  that  formality  was  to  be 
accomplished  was  the  question  which  agitated 
him  in  his  interviews  and  ponderings  within  the 
walls — ^for  he  was  little  seen  out  of  doors.  No  rest 
could  come  to  him,  for  the  drama  was  not  yet 
finished ;  the  last  curtain  had  not  been  rung  down, 
and  this  could  only  be  accomplished  by  a  supreme 
action  on  the  part  of  the  chief  actor. 

Whatever  the  reports  from  Berlin,  set  in 
motion  by  Prince  Max  of  Baden,  had  been  he  was 
still  German  Emperor,  and  it  behoved  him  with  his 
own  hand  to  put  himself  down  from  the  pinnacle 
on  which  (apart  from  his  birth)  his  masterful 
personality  had  placed  him. 

On  his  arrival  from  Spa  he  had  brought  a 
large  "  suite  "  with  him,  consisting  of  the  following 
gentlemen,  according  to  the  Times,  13th  November 
1918 :  Colonel-General  von  Plessen,  Lieut enant- 
General  von  Gontard,  Hofmarshal  von  Platen, 
Major-General  von  Frankcnberg,  Major-General 
von  Litorff,  Major-General  von  Grimman,  Colonel 
Count  von  Moltke,  Surgeon-General  von  Niester, 
Major-General  von  Hirschfeld,  Captain  von  Ilse- 
mann,  Captain  Seiss,  Captain  Knauff,  Captain 
Schaderberg,  and  Captain  Grutsche. 


32  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

At  first  he  naturally  did  not  discuss  with  his 
host  at  any  length  the  great  political  events  of 
the  day  affecting  him,  and  since  that  time  he  has 
been  sparing  in  comment  on  the  actual  circum- 
stances attending  his  abdication.  But  it  was 
understood  that  one  of  the  principal  determining 
motives  for  the  formal  act  of  abdication  was 
(apart  from  the  fact  that  he  had  already  been  de- 
throned) that  it  had  been  declared  from  the  allied 
side  that  there  would  be  "  no  peace  with  a  Hohen- 
zollern,"  and  that  therefore  a  possibility  of  his 
later  return  to  Germany  might  delay  a  peace  settle- 
ment. There  was,  also,  the  fact  that  his  acceptance 
of  the  status  of  a  private  citizen  would  ease  the 
difficulties  of  those  who  gave  him  temporary  shelter. 
How  far  he  should  compromise  the  rights  of  his 
successors  was  another  problem. 

Parleyings  were  continued  to  the  end  of  the 
month  before  the  form  of  the  official  act  of  abdica- 
tion was  definitely  fixed. 

The  28th  of  November  ^  arrived,  and,  prelimin- 
aries over,  several  black-coated  men  were  led  silently 
up  the  staircase  and  through  the  gallery — where 
from  the  walls  dead  makers  of  history  clad  in  robes 
grandiose  and  picturesque  looked  down  on  these 
living  history- makers  garbed  so  unheroically — to 
the  Kaiser's  apartments. 

In  one  of  these  pictures  Count  Godard  Bentinck 
is  represented  in  the  robes  of  a  Knight-Commander 
of  the  Teutonic  Order.  The  uniform  is  very 
effective,  having  a  tunic  of  white  cloth  with  black 
V-shaped  collar  and  cuffs,  high  military  boots 
somewhat  similar  to  those  worn  by  the  Life  Guards, 

1 1918. 


loh  verzlchte  hlerdarch  fur  alle  Zukunft  aaf  die.-  Reohte 
an  der  Erone  Freassea  and  die -damit  verbandenea  Beohte  &a  der 
deatsobea  Ealserkrone. 

Zaglelcli  entblnd©  Ich  alle  Baamtea  des  Deatachen  Reichs 
and  PrGUBseaa  sowie  alle  Offizlere,  Dnteroffiaiere  and  Marm- 
Bohaftea  der  Marine,  dee  Preusslsohes  Heeres  und  der  Truppea 
der  Bundeskontingente  des  .Treaeidee,  das  eie  Uir  als  Ihrea 
Kaiser,  Kbaig  and  Oberstea  Befehlshaber  geleistet  haben.  Ich 
ervarte  voq  ihnen,  dass  ale  bis  sur  Neaordaang  des  Deatschea 
Reichs  den  Inhabern  der  tataachlichea  Qewalt  la  Deatachland 
helfen,  das  Deutsche  Volk  gegen  die  droheadea  Gefahren  der 
Anarchic,  der  Hungersnot  and  der  Premdherrschaft  za  schutzcn. 

Urkundlich  uater  Unserer  Hochsteigenhandigea  Unter- 
BOhrift  and  beigedrucktea  Kaiserlichea  Insiegel." 

Gegebea  Amerongen,  dea  28.  November  1918. 


FAC-SIMILE  OF  THE  ABDICATION  SIGNED  BV 
THE  EX-KAISER  AT  AMERONGEN 


(By  the  courtesy  of  the  Proprietors  oj  The  Daily  Mail.) 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  83 

with  golden  spurs,  the  true  sign  of  knighthood. 
Black  cloth  knee-breeches  are  worn,  and  from 
the  shoulders  hangs  a  graceful  white  cloak.  The 
whole  is  surmounted  by  a  black  hat  with  a  white 
plume,  and  round  the  neck  is  worn  a  massive  chain 
of  silver. 

I  mentioned  in  the  last  chapter  that  four  rooms 
had  been  reserved  for  the  Royal  couple.  These 
led  off  the  central  gallery.  As  you  enter  the  room 
in  which  the  abdication  was  signed  two  windows 
face  you.  In  the  recess  of  one  stands  a  fine  Buhl 
writing-table,  also  faintly  reminiscent  of  Louis 
Quartorze,  the  victorious  occupant  of  Amerongen, 
for  the  type  of  furniture  derives  its  name  from 
Charles  Andr6  Boule,  a  cabinet-maker  in  the 
service  of  the  Grand  Monarque.  Any  one  seated 
here  looks  out  across  the  moats  to  pleasant  fields, 
and  then,  farther  away,  to  ships  on  the  Rliine. 
Here  it  was,  within  view  of  the  river  that  runs 
through  all  German  history,  that  the  Kaiser 
definitely  became  ex-Kaiser  by  signing  the  simple 
typewritten  sheet  of  which  I  give  a  reproduction 
on  the  next  page,  and  of  which  the  following  is  a 
translation : 

"  I  hereby  for  all  the  future  renounce  my  rights 
to  the  Crown  of  Prussia  and  my  consequential 
rights  to  the  German  Imperial  Crown. 

"  At  the  same  time  I  release  all  officials  of  the 
German  Empire  and  Prussia,  as  well  as  all  the 
officers,  non-commissioned  officers,  and  men  of  the 
Navy,  of  the  Prussian  Army,  and  of  the  federal 
contingents,  from  the  oath  of  fealty,  which  they 
have  made  to  me  as  their  Emperor,  King  and 
Supreme  Commander.  I  expect  of  them  that  until 
5 


84  THE  EX-I^ISER  IN  EXILE 

the  reorganisation  of  the  German  Empu'e  they 
will  help  those  in  possession  of  actual  power  in 
Germany  to  protect  the  German  people  against 
the  threatening  dangers  of  anarchy,  famine,  and 
foreign  domination. 

"  Given  under  our  hand  and  our  Imperial  seal, 

"  WiLHELM. 

"Amerongen,  November  28,  1918." 

The  signature,  which  he  had  copied  from  his 
grandfather,  so  beloved  of  the  German  people, 
was  as  bold,  the  flourishes  as  flowery,  as  ever. 
Apropos  his  signature  I  may  say  how  very 
unwilling  he  is  to  give  it  away ;  the  most  people 
may  usually  expect  is  a  piece  of  wood  sawn  by  his 
hand,  on  which  he  inscribes  a  bold  "  W."  The 
ceremony,  if  it  could  so  be  called,  was  brief.  The 
fateful  document  was  handed  to  the  emissaries,  who 
with  a  total  absence  of  the  externals  of  place  and 
dignity  left  as  quickly  as  they  had  arrived,  bearing 
with  them  to  the  New  Germany  the  precious 
corner-stone  for  the  edifice  they  hoped  to  erect  on 
the  ruins  of  Kaiserdom. 

After  they  had  left,  the  ex-Kaiser  came  to  his 
host  and  said,  "  Nothing  should  happen  in  your 
house  of  which  you  are  ignorant,  and  I  wish  to 
tell  you  that  at  this  moment  I  have  signed  my 
abdication." 

That  was  all,  and  naturally  no  comments  on 
the  poignant  situation  were  made.  From  the 
ex-Kaiser's  point  of  view  this  must  have  been  a 
terrible  day,  the  culmination  of  all  the  previous 
tragic  happenings  which  had  led  up  to  it.  He 
bore  it,  I  was  told,  with  fortitude  and  resignation. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  35 

One  may  wonder  whether  this  abdication  may 
prove  worthless — "  a  scrap  of  paper."  For  he 
might  argue  that  he  signed  it  against  his  will,  and, 
another  point,  that  it  was  only  for  himself  that  he 
resigned.  In  view  of  the  Berlin  report,  reproduced 
in  the  Times  of  18th  January  1921,  that  evidence 
has  been  obtained  that  the  Hohenzollerns  have 
joined  in  preparations  for  a  new  revolutionary 
coup,  and  that  a  number  of  former  German  officers 
living  in  Amsterdam  are  implicated,  one's  attention 
is  focused  on  the  wording  of  the  document. 

That  day,  according  to  the  Times,  brought 
another  important  event  for  the  exile — ^the  ex- 
Kaiserin  ^  arrived  from  Germany.  For  both  the 
meeting  was  emotional.  She  looked  worn  and  ill. 
They  had  last  been  together  some  time  before  the 
final  crash,  and  that  "  catastrophe  " — for  so  it 
appeared  to  her,  a  thing  terrible  and  inexplicable 
— had  been  infinitely  more  shattering  to  her  than 
to  him. 

She  was  taken  at  once  to  her  rooms,  and  was 
attended  by  the  Countess  Keller,  a  very  great 
friend,  who  came  to  her  on  her  marriage  and  has 
been  with  her  ever  since.  Here  she  remained  for 
several  days,  and  for  some  considerable  time  after 
her  arrival  she  did  not  appear  for  meals. 

She  was,  as  every  one  knows,  more  interested 
in  the  hidden  domestic  life  than  in  the  public 
political  one.  She  believed  the  role  of  her  husband 
was  divinely  ordained,  and  when  the  foundations 

1  Since  this  was  written  the  death  of  the  ex-Kaiserin  occurred  at 
Doom  on  nth  April  192 1.  The  coffin  was  taken  to  Potsdam.  The 
Royal  train  came  to  the  station  of  Maarn  to  convey  the  mortal 
remains  to  Germany. 


36  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

of  this  her  world  were  scattered  she  could  only 
think  it  was  because  malign  forces  had  triumphed. 
Thus  her  plight  at  least  seemed  pathetic  to  the 
onlookers  at  the  meeting,  and  for  a  woman, 
distressed  in  mind  and  destitute  of  state,  there 
was  only  human  sympathy. 

She  was  in  great  fear  for  the  safety  of  her 
husband.  Then,  and  for  long  afterwards,  she 
started  in  alarm  at  any  unusual  noise  in  the  night. 
"  They  are  coming  for  him,"  she  would  cry,  and 
burst  into  tears.  She  had  the  fixed  idea  that 
Britain  was  to  blame  for  the  War,  and  that  con- 
viction is  still  unshakable. 

I  would  speak  with  all  respect  of  this  Royal 
and  noble  lady,  whose  whole  life,  overshadowed 
publicly  as  it  was  by  her  brilliant  husband, 
has  been  devoted  privately  to  being  a  good  wife 
and  a  good  mother.  In  pre-war  days  few  could 
equal  and  none  excel  her  regal  and  gracious 
appearance. 

The  suite  of  the  ex-Kaiser  began  to  dwindle 
rapidly.  Formal  abdication  had  taken  away  any 
excuse  for  keeping  so  many  soldiers  and  officials 
around  him,  and,  in  any  case,  he  would  not  have 
been  allowed  to  retain  them.  He  became  more 
definitely  "  the  exile."  Finally,  his  establishment 
was  reduced,  apart  from  servants,  to  Lieutenant- 
General  von  Gontard  (a  man  in  the  sixties),  whose 
position  was  now  analogous  to  that  of  a  Chamber- 
lain, and  Captain  von  Ilsemann,  his  aide-de-camp. 
When  in  July  1918  the  German  plan  was  to  capture 
the  whole  of  the  Marne,  and  the  railway  connecting 
Paris  and  the  Eastern  Front  was  to  be  severed 
preparatory   to   cutting    off   the    Eastern    armies 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  37 

from  those  in  the  centre  and  the  west,  General 
von  Gontard,  with  General  Lindequist,  was  com- 
manding groups  of  divisions. 

At  the  wedding  of  Count  Godard  Bentinck's 
daughter  to  Captain  von  Ilsemann  I  had  several 
opportunities  for  closely  observing  this  man.  His 
personal  appearance  is  not  striking,  and  his 
somewhat  weak  face,  with  its  receding  chin, 
would  not,  I  imagine,  inspire  much  confidence. 
His  physiognomy  is  rather  of  the  parrot  type,  and 
does  not  compare  favourably  with  the  fine,  strong 
cast  of  countenance  so  often  noticed  in  the  German 
commanders.  He  is  assiduous  in  his  attentions 
to  his  master,  and  is  very  tenacious  of  the  old 
regime,  which  consisted  largely  in  flattery  and 
hiding  any  unpleasant  truths  from  the  Emperor. 

Captain  von  Ilsemann,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
the  exact  opposite,  and  represents  an  entirely 
different  school. 

He  has  a  good,  strong,  determined  face,  out  of 
which  two  dark  blue  eyes  look  very  straightly. 
He  always  says  what  he  means  and  what  he 
thinks,  and  this  manner,  although  at  first  dis- 
concerting to  one  used  to  perpetual  adulation, 
has  come  to  be  much  appreciated  by  the  ex- 
Kaiser. 

I  will  explain  how  he  came  to  hold  his  present 
position,  for  he  was  unknown  in  Court  circles 
before  1914,  and  his  father  was  ennobled  by  this 
Emperor. 

Had  Germany  won  there  is  no  doubt  he  would 
have  been  given  some  very  high  position,  and 
the  ordre  pour  le  merite  would  have  been  his. 
But  the  fates  decreed  otherwise,  and  instead  of 


38  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

this  distinguished  order  and  a  place  in  the  Court 
of  Berhn  he  won  for  himself  a  charming  wife,  whom 
he  would  never  have  met  had  it  not  been  for  the 
Revolution  ! 

He  distinguished  himself  in  action  against  the 
Russians  in  East  Prussia  at  the  beginning  of  the 
War,  and  was  in  consequence  appointed  to  the 
staff  of  Hindenburg.  The  veteran  thought  highly 
of  his  work,  and  in  course  of  time  made  him  the 
bearer  of  one  of  his  dispatches  to  the  Crown 
Prince.  Here  again  the  young  soldier  made  a 
good  impression.  The  Crown  Prince  thought  he 
would  make  a  useful  counterpoise,  in  the  retinue 
of  his  father,  to  the  elderly  soldiers,  diplomatists, 
and  politicians  by  whom  he  was  surrounded,  and 
sent  him  to  Main  Headquarters  with  a  recom- 
mendation. 

In  this  way  he  became  an  aide-de-camp  to 
the  Kaiser.  He  is  clever  and  energetic  and  of  a 
gay  disposition,  and  the  Kaiser,  finding  his  youth- 
ful cheerfulness  a  tonic,  kept  him  in  close  attend- 
ance. He  accompanied  the  Imperial  couple  to 
Constantinople  ;  and  of  this  trip,  by  the  way,  he 
tells  of  his  amusement  at  seeing  the  Kaiserin 
trying  to  stab  with  a  hatpin  unpleasant  insects 
that  were  crawling  on  the  walls  of  a  palace  in  which 
they  were  lodged. 

WTien  the  list  of  his  remaining  "  suite  "  was 
presented  to  the  Kaiser  to  choose  two  gentlemen 
to  remain  with  him  the  pencil  was  not  put  through 
the  name  of  Sigurd  von  Ilsemann.  It  had  been 
thought  that  perhaps  he,  young  and  energetic 
as  he  v/as,  might  wish  to  go  back  to  Germany  and 
there  carve  out  a  fresh  career  for  himself.     But 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  39 

the  friendship  which  bound  him  to  his  dethroned 
master  was  too  strong  for  this.  So  when  it  was 
suggested  that  the  Emperor  wished  him  to  stay, 
he  fell  in  with  the  plan. 

Since  the  abdication  he  has,  in  his  capacity 
of  private  secretary,  become  more  and  more  closely 
attached  to  his  master.  His  greatest  value  perhaps 
is  that  the  ex-Kaiser,  Avho  before  his  debacle  never 
knew  whom  to  believe,  now  has  the  plain  facts, 
whether  pleasant  or  unpleasant,  from  this  exceed- 
ingly frank  and  most  agreeable  young  man. 

Christmas  came  before  the  ex-Kaiser  had 
settled  down  to  the  freer  share  in  the  life  of  the 
household  and  the  closer  association  with  his  host 
that  in  time  became  inevitable,  and  from  which 
followed  the  conversations  and  incidents  I  shall 
describe. 

As  is  usual  in  Holland  and  in  Germany,  great 
preparations  were  made  for  the  observance  of  the 
festival.  One  significant  incident  occiuTcd  at 
Amerongen.  There,  as  here,  carol  singing  is  one 
of  the  features  of  the  celebration.  The  village 
choir  gave  a  little  entertainment,  at  which  one 
of  the  chief  items  was  the  well-known  German 
hymn,  "  Stille  Nacht,  Hcilige  Nacht."  Hearing 
this,  the  ex-Kaiser  spoke  of  his  wish  that  the  choir 
would  sing  to  him  at  midnight  on  Clnistmas  Eve  ; 
but  the  authorities,  whose  great  care  was  to  avoid 
any  step  that  might  show  a  disposition  to  regard 
him  as  a  guest  rather  than  as  a  prisoner,  prevented 
this  arrangement  bemg  made. 

Within  the  Castle  there  were  httle  encounters 
that  caused  amusement  to  all  concerned.  The 
maids   were    interested    in   the   guest,    and    little 


40  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

attentions  to  his  comfort  brought  them  to  his 
notice.  Thus  at  Christmas  and  New  Year  he 
would  greet  them  in  the  most  unceremonious  way 
while  they  were  at  their  work,  to  wish  them  good 
luck  and  happiness,  and  to  shake  them  by  the 
hand.  Being  taken  unawares  on  those  occasions, 
they  would  quickly  run  their  hands  down  their 
aprons  to  clean  them  before  the  handshake  was 
given.  And  so  the  greetings  took  place  with 
laughter. 

The  feeling  existing  between  the  Castle  and 
the  village  is  quite  feudal  in  its  friendliness,  and 
this  atmosphere  was  much  appreciated  by  the 
Emperor.  The  servants  remain  for  years  and 
years,  and  are  related  to  the  domestics  of  all  the 
other  Bentincks  scattered  over  Holland.  Thus 
they  seem  to  form  one  large  family  and  live  to- 
gether on  the  happiest  of  terms. 

During  these  first  months  when  his  world  was 
all  so  upside  down  the  exile  remained  indoors  a 
good  deal  except  when  he  was  sawing  wood,  and 
one  of  his  chief  pleasures  at  this  time  was  to  watch 
the  members  of  the  family  and  the  villagers 
skating  on  the  moat  round  the  house.  He  would 
often  spend  a  whole  afternoon  at  the  windows  of 
his  sitting-room  looking  on.  One  of  the  fre- 
quenters was  a  most  graceful  skater,  and  he  was 
particularly  keen  not  to  miss  her  appearance,  and 
sometimes  sent  a  message  asking  her  to  come  to 
skate. 

Mention  of  this  reminds  me  of  a  bright,  cold 
day  in  February  1919,  when  the  sun  shone  on  the 
skaters.  The  ex-Kaiser's  doctor — ^a  short,  stout, 
good-tempered-looking  man,  with  a  dark  moustache 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  41 

and  beard — came  often  to  the  Castle  in  the 
mornings  in  the  early  days,  chiefly  to  see  the 
ex-Kaiserin  ;  and  on  this  occasion  he  remarked 
laughingly  to  me,  "  Real  Hohenzollern  weather  !  " 
"  That's  what  we  always  say  when  it's  a  fine  day," 
he  added. 


CHAPTER  III 

"  But  now  I  am  cabined,  cribbed,  confined,  bound  in  by  saucy 
doubts  and  fears." — Macbeth. 

To  a  man  whose  life  had  been  extraordinarily 
varied  and  occupied  even  for  one  of  his  position  ; 
who  had  delighted  in  the  rapid  succession  in 
audience  of  notable  men  in  all  spheres  in  all 
countries  and  in  the  pomp  and  circumstance  of 
Courts  and  the  glitter  and  excitement  of  naval 
and  military  displays  ;  who  in  his  constant  travels 
had  never  missed  an  opportunity  for  a  picturesque 
or  dramatic  pose — ^to  him  the  daily  round  at 
Amerongen  must  have  seemed  extremely  dull ; 
though,  no  doubt,  to  millions  bereaved  and  im- 
poverished by  the  war  his  lot  would  appear 
enviable  compared  with  theirs. 

Wherever  he  went  he  left  some  striking 
memory  of  his  meteoric  career.  In  visiting 
Damascus  in  February  1914  I  was  personally 
struck  by  this  idiosyncrasy,  which  on  this  occasion 
took  the  form  of  extolling  Christianity. 

We  were  visiting  Saladin's  tomb,  on  which 
reposed  a  huge  bronze  wreath  of  laurels  which  the 
Emperor  had  placed  there.  When  he  gave  it 
there  was  a  large  cross  in  the  wreath,  but  this 
had  since  been  torn  out  by  the  Turks.  A  cross 
on  Saladin's  tomb  certainly  did  seem  incongruous, 
yet  one  could   understand  the  feeling  which   lay 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  43 

behind  the  action,  impetuous  and  perhaps  mis- 
taken as  it  was. 

One  is  very  sensitive  to  adverse  opinions  on 
one's  rehgious  beliefs  in  the  East,  and  I  underwent 
this  unpleasant  experience  when  entering  the 
church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  in  Jerusalem.^  In 
the  porch  of  this  church — which  belongs  equally 
to  all  sects  and  denominations  of  Christians — 
there  is  a  wide  stone  seat  which  is  the  perquisite 
of  certain  Turkish  families. 

Here,  year  in  year  out,  sat  or  rather  lounged 
young  Turkish  men  who  regarded  the  fervent 
stream  of  devout  Christians  excitedly  approaching 
this  extraordinary  church  with  a  sort  of  slightly 
veiled  sarcastic  commiseration,  mingled  with  a 
haughty  toleration.  To  the  pilgrim  on  the  thresh- 
old of  Calvary  this  was  not  a  pleasant  sensation. 

But  even  so — to  the  uninitiated  and  unversed 
onlooker — ^the  presence  of  the  Turk  in  Jerusalem 
seemed  to  be  the  only  possible  solution  to  an 
exceedingly  difficult  question.  Remembering  all 
these  varied  journeys  of  William  ii.,  his  Vita 
Nuova  behind  a  moat  must  have  seemed  indeed 
monotonous.  Nevertheless,  he  did  not  follow  any 
regular  routine.  He  was,  and  is,  too  impulsive  to 
have  a  settled  plan  for  any  day.  As  he  had  no 
affairs  of  State  to  deal  with,  and  had,  in  fact,  little 
else  to  do  in  the  afternoons  and  evenings  than  to 
pass  the  time  in  the  way  most  agreeable  to  him, 
he  suited  the  occupation  to  the  whim  of  the 
moment — so  far  as  his  confined  conditions  per- 
mitted. I  say  that  to  qualify  my  account,  which 
follows,  of  an  ordinary  day  at  Amerongen. 

^  March  1914. 


44  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

One  habit  has  been  invariable  since  he  became 
an  exile  ;  he  rises  extremely  early,  a  habit,  I  am 
told,  which  many  sovereigns  keep.  But  he  does 
not,  I  think,  go  to  bed  as  early  as  the  late 
Emperor  of  Austria,  who  was  in  Salzburg  once 
when  we  were  there. 

Our  hotel  was  near  the  Schloss  where  he 
stayed,  and  one  night  on  coming  back  in  our 
droschke  across  the  noisy  cobblestones  from  a 
theatre  our  chiver  suddenly  stopped  and  told 
us  that  he  could  take  us  no  farther.  "  Der 
Kaiser  schlaft,"  he  said,  with  a  whimsical  smile. 
This  feeling  for  Franz-Joseph  was  common  to 
the  peasants  of  Austria,  and  some  of  the  tributes 
of  love  they  paid  him  were  fantastic. 

For  instance  pork,  the  most  popular  of  meats 
in  the  Dual  Empire,  was  always  spoken  of  as 
Kaiser-Fleisch,  and  daily  at  midday  when  he  was 
stopping  at  the  Castle  in  Vienna  crowds  of  people 
would  turn  into  the  courtyard  on  to  which  some 
of  his  private  apartments  looked,  and  would 
enthusiastically  cheer  the  old  man  as  he  walked 
feebly  to  the  windows  and  waved  his  hand  to 
them  in  the  most  naive  and  fatherly  fashion. 

But  to  return  to  William  ii.  The  ex-Kaiser's 
first  attendant  in  the  morning,  his  valet,  is  a  tall, 
good-looking  man  of  about  forty,  who  has  been 
with  him  for  many  years.  He  is  the  only  one 
around  the  exile  to-day  who  wears  his  moustache 
in  the  old  turned-up  way,  which,  no  doubt,  will  go 
down  in  historical  portraiture  as  an  outstanding 
characteristic  of  the  pre-war  Emperor.  He  has 
large,  melancholy  brown  eyes,  and  his  smile,  when 
he  politely  returns  a   greeting,  is  a  little  wistful 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  45 

and  sad.  It  was  one  of  Montaigne's  characters, 
I  believe,  who  remarked  that  "  no  man  is  a  hero 
to  his  valet,"  but  I  think  that  this  valet  must  be 
the  exception  which  proves  the  rule !  Like  the 
other  personal  attendants  he  is  very  solicitous  for 
his  master's  comforts. 

By  eight  o'clock  the  Emperor  is  generally  out 
and  takes  a  good  walk.  When  he  first  arrived  he 
used  to  go  outside  the  Castle  demesne,  but  this 
practice  was  soon  discontinued,  and  so  there  only 
remained  the  walk  between  the  moats  and  the 
garden,  beyond  which  lies  along  the  outside  wall 
a  distance  of  about  300  yards.  He  wore  a  blue 
serge  suit  and  a  Homburg  hat,  which  sometimes 
had  a  black  cock's-tail  feather  stuck  in  it.  On 
cold  days  he  wore  a  large  cape  made  of  "  Loden," 
a  dark  green,  closely  woven  stuff,  very  warm  and 
waterproof,  which  is  worn  by  all  from  Emperor 
to  peasant  throughout  middle  Europe. 

For  some  time  after  his  arrival  his  supply  of 
civilian  suits  was,  for  all  practical  purposes,  non- 
existent. This  was  understandable,  for  uniform 
days  were  over,  and  it  was  only  these,  naturally, 
that  had  come  with  him  from  Spa. 

The  people  in  the  village  have  never  borne 
him  any  ill-will  or  feeling  of  malice,  and  were 
quite  glad  to  have  him  among  them.  He  would 
often  stop  and  talk  to  the  men  in  the  grounds 
and  nod  them  a  friendly  "  Good  day." 

Prayers  for  the  household  were  at  8.45,  and 
he  was  always  back  in  time  for  them.  They  took 
place  in  the  picture  gallery,  with  the  host's 
daughter,  who  is  very  artistic,  at  the  organ.  He 
often  chose  the  hymns.     Sometimes,  afterwards, 


46  THE  EX-ICAISER  IN  EXILE 

he  would  laughingly  reprove  his  host  for  the 
tattered  state  of  the  books.  The  little  service 
was  in  Dutch,  a  language  which  he  was  soon  able 
to  speak  fluently. 

After  breakfast,  which  was  taken  to  his  rooms, 
his  correspondence  had  to  be  tackled.  It  was  very 
heavy,  and  came  from  all  parts  of  the  world  ;  some 
was  abusive,  but  much  also  was  sympathetic,  for 
it  must  be  remembered  that  he  had  a  large  party 
still  attached  to  him  in  Germany.  In  these  early 
days  he  had  four  gentlemen  still  with  him,  and 
their  aid  prevented  him  from  being  completely 
snowed  under  in  the  mornings.  One  of  the  four, 
who  has  since  returned  to  Germany,  was  a  very 
good  musician,  and  whiled  away  many  hours  at  the 
piano,  lingering  lovingly  over  Wagner,  Beethoven, 
Chopin,  and  Liszt.  He  was  composing  an  opera, 
and  said  that  music  was  the  real  interest  of  his 
life  and  soldiering  only  a  necessity. 

The  rest  of  the  morning  would  be  spent  in 
cutting  and  sawing  wood.  We  have  often  heard 
that  this  was  his  favourite  pastime  at  Amerongen, 
but  I  did  not  realise  with  what  zest  he  applied 
himself  to  it  or  the  great  amount  of  work  he  got 
through  till  I  saw  his  handiwork  myself.  In  the 
whole  of  his  stay  he  cut  down  several  thousands 
of  trees,  covering  a  closely  set  half-acre  of  ground. 
It  is  true  that  they  were  chiefly  small  Scotch  firs, 
with  trunks  about  six  inches  in  diameter  ;  but 
these  were  not  only  cut  down  but  carefully  sawn 
up  in  small  pieces  and  as  carefully  stacked  by 
himself. 

When,  during  the  last  years  of  the  War,  coal 
was  almost  unobtainable  in  Holland,  Count  Godard 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  47 

Bentinck,  to  be  ready  for  emergencies,  installed 
at  the  Castle  china  stoves  specially  made  for 
burning  wood.  All  the  wood  now  used  in  these 
stoves  is  that  sawn  up  by  the  exile.  The  supply 
for  a  year  ahead  is  kept  at  the  back  of  the  stables, 
and  last  October  ^  I  saw,  ready  for  this  winter,  a 
solid  mass  of  his  blocks,  occupying  a  space  roughly 
about  twelve  feet  in  length  and  breadth  and  eight 
feet  in  height.  The  apertures  of  the  stoves  are 
narrow,  and  the  wood  has,  in  consequence,  to  be  cut 
up  in  small,  uniform  pieces  ;  so  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  exile  had  to  be  workmanlike. 

In  the  grounds  the  Bentinck  children  had 
built  a  summer-house — one  which  did  them  infinite 
credit,  for  it  was  a  most  elaborate  and  comfort- 
able little  place.  Here  were  books,  tables,  com- 
fortable chairs,  and  a  tiny  cooking-stove,  with  all 
the  requisites  for  a  light  meal.  To  this  the  wood- 
cutter would  retire  when  he  was  tired,  and  port, 
cigarettes,  and  cigars  would  be  brought  to  him. 
Maps  would  then  be  spread  on  the  table,  and  here 
he  would  go  over  his  battles  again.  With  finger 
on  map  he  would  discuss  with  animation  the 
scenes  of  victory  or  disaster  of  the  last  four  years, 
and  his  many  rapid  journeys  from  front  to  fi'ont. 
On  the  opposite  side  of  the  path  a  lean-to  had 
been  erected  for  his  convenience,  with  all  the 
rest  of  the  paraphernalia  necessary  to  wood- 
cutting. 

Here,  in  his  serge  suit,  collarless,  with  his  shirt 
slightly  open  at  the  neck,  would  the  fallen  monarch 
spend  most  of  his  time  when  not  in  the  house — 
sawing,  sawing,  sawing  ! 

^  1920. 


48  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

Sometimes  one  of  his  "  suite  "  or  a  member 
of  the  family  would  be  with  him,  but  it  was  not 
unusual  for  him  to  spend  many  hours  alone  when 
thus  occupied. 

What  a  change  for  the  War-Lord  of  a  year 
ago  ! 

It  is  here  that  he  cuts  the  wood  into  narrow 
strips  which  he  uses  to  give  as  mementoes  to 
attendants  and,  indeed,  to  friends  as  well.  When 
he  arrived  from  Belgium  he  had — as  is  usual 
with  Royal  persons — a.  goodly  store  of  jewellery 
for  use  as  gifts.  Wliat  I  saw  consisted  chiefly 
of  aquamarine  pendants  on  platinum  chains,  and 
others  with  the  Imperial  cipher  in  tiny  diamonds 
prettily  set  on  pale  blue  enamel.  But  these,  of 
course,  had  to  be  kept  for  special  occasions  ;  so 
the  signed  strips  of  wood  were  very  useful  when 
unimportant  little  gifts  were  needed.  And  these 
will — in  the  future — be  interesting  in  their  small 
way  as  typifying  in  concrete  form  the  favourite 
employment  of  the  fallen  monarch. 

At  one  o'clock  came  luncheon,  sometimes  in 
his  own  room,  sometimes  with  the  family.  It  was 
of  an  ordinary  kind — an  entree  consisting  of  eggs, 
rissotto,  etc.,  followed  by  game.  Sometimes  a 
salmon  from  the  Rhine  would  be  sent  by  friends 
of  Count  Godard  Bentinck,  and  this  was  much 
appreciated,  for  sentimental  as  well  as  for  culin- 
ary reasons.  Dutch  cooking  is  extremely  good 
(though,  on  account  of  the  quantity  of  cream  and 
butter  used,  it  is  decidedly  bad  for  the  figure  !), 
and,  like  all  of  us,  the  ex-Kaiser  enjoys  the  efforts 
of  a  good  chef.  There  are  always  two  at  Ameron- 
gen — a   German  and   a   Dutchman.     Of   wine   he 


Central  News.) 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 


^^""ri^pS'n  ^^""^^  "-^t  Vi"'  ^  ^^blegram  in  the  grounds  of  Amerongen. 
General  Dommes,  the  Adjutant  to  the  Kaiser,  is  the  other  figure. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  49 

drank  sparingly,  chiefly  white  ;  but  a  good  deal 
of  champagne  had  come  with  him  when  he 
crossed  the  frontier. 

Afternoons,  when  fine,  were  spent  out  of  doors  ; 
but  when  it  was  wet  or  dull  outside  he  would, 
with  one  of  his  attendants,  walk  round  and  round 
the  gallery  for  over  an  hour,  solely  with  the  idea 
of  taking  exercise. 

On  fine  days  he  would  go  for  long  drives 
through  the  Amerongen  woods,  which  arc  large 
and  wild,  and  in  which  one  can  roam  for  hours 
without  meeting  another  human  being.  From 
them,  on  particularly  clear  days,  one  can  see 
nearly  into  Germany.  Occasionally,  but  not  very 
frequently,  he  would  motor  along  the  roads  in 
the  neighbourhood.  His  radius  was  a  very  re- 
stricted one.  Seven  miles  in  the  direction  of 
Doom  (his  present  home)  was  the  outside  limit 
of  these  excursions,  and  lie  was  thus  never  near  a 
large  town,  Utrecht  being  fourteen  miles  beyond 
Doom,  and  Arnhem  about  fifteen  miles  from 
Amerongen  in  the  other  direction. 

He  has  several  big  cars,  all  Merc6d^s,  and  he 
invariably  travels  at  a  high  rate  of  speed — he  is 
gone  almost  before  one  reahscs  that  he  is  there. 
A  favourite  car  has  a  light -coloured  wooden  body, 
and  looks  as  though  it  had  been  built  for  use  on 
shooting  expeditions.  When  I  was  there  I  noticed 
that  his  car  moves  off  with  great  dash  and  gains 
speed  very  quickly.  His  chauffeur  is  now  old 
in  his  service,  and — like  all  his  servants — is  as 
respectfully  ceremonious  as  in  the  old  days  when 
Jove's  whisper  made  millions  incline.  The  foot- 
man always  hands  him  his  military  overcoat — 
7 


50  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

the  only  military  thing  he  uses  now — with  a  bow, 
and  carefully  buttons  it  for  him  from  high  under 
the  chin  downwards. 

I  saw  him  depart  once  from  Amerongen  after 
a  visit,  and  was  much  struck  by  the  scene.  The 
car  was  in  the  background ;  servants  were 
obsequiously  bowing  and  keeping  at  a  proper 
distance  ;  Count  Godard  and  several  other  gentle- 
men, among  them  one  of  his  sons  who  was  at  the 
time  staying  at  Doom,  were  all  hovering  about 
him.  Before  he  put  on  his  coat  he  looked  a  mixture 
of  King  Edward  vii.  and  Prince  Henry  of  Prussia, 
but  with  the  coat  on  he  and  the  scene  were  trans- 
formed, and  I  could  visualise  him,  as  I  had  often 
seen  him  in  pictures,  surrounded  by  officers  of  the 
higher  command,  feet  planted  well  apart,  stern, 
eager  face  looking  up,  finger  pointing  forward. 

One  of  the  places  to  which  he  motored  most 
frequently    was    Zuylestein,    the    home    of    Count 
Charles  Bentinck,  elder  and  only  surviving  brother 
of    Count    Godard,    and    situated    near    Leersum, 
a  mile  from  Amerongen,  in  the  direction  of  Doom. 
The  house,  which  dates  from  the  twelfth  century, 
is  smaller  than  Amerongen,  but   very  charming. 
A  tower,  surmounted  by  a  curiously  shaped,  slate- 
covered  ball,  rears  itself  above  the  main  building 
and  leans  quite  noticeably  to  the  west.     It  be- 
longed in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries 
to  the   family   of   the   Nassau-Zuylestein.      They 
married  with  the  de  Reede  Ginkells,  their  neigh- 
bours at  Amerongen,  and  they  again  entered  into 
matrimonial    bonds    with    the    Bentincks,    thus 
bringing  the  two  properties  (through  women)  to 
their  present  owner.  Count  Godard.     At  one  time 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  51 

the  novelist  Maarten  Maartens,  well  known  a 
decade  ago  to  English  readers,  rented  Zuylestein, 
and,  I  believe,  portrayed  some  members  of  the 
Bentinck  family  in  one  of  his  books. 

The  ex-Kaiser  doesn't  shoot  now,  not  because 
he  may  not,  but  because  it  is  considered  wiser 
that  he  should  not  indulge  in  this  sport  which  was 
once  such  a  favourite  recreation  of  his.  Neither 
does  he  ride,  and  so  his  pastimes  are  very  limited. 

The  ex-Kaiserin  was  always  fond  of  riding,  but 
has  been  too  ill  ever  since  her  arrival  in  Holland 
to  do  so,  and  she  gave  her  favourite  hack,  which 
was  sent  to  Amerongen  from  Germany,  to  Countess 
Elizabeth  Bentinck  last  spring.* 

It  is  a  chestnut  about  16  hands  up  to  12 
stone,  with  a  mane  and  a  long  tail,  and  must  be 
familiar  to  visitors  to  Berlin  before  the  War. 

Tea  was  a  meal  the  Emperor  thoroughly  en- 
joyed, and  scones  and  buns  were  always  specially 
made  for  him  by  the  Scottish  housekeeper,  who  has 
been  at  Amerongen  for  about  thirty  years.  Wlien- 
ever  he  returns  there  now  he  likes  to  see  her,  and 
has  always  been  most  friendly  to  her — a  fact  she 
much  appreciates,  and  she  cannot  say  too  much  in 
his  praise. 

During  the  summer  months  the  hours  between 
tea  and  dinner  would  be  filled  by  watching  tennis, 
walking  and  chatting  about  the  garden,  or  maybe 
again  betaking  himself  to  the  sawing.  In  winter, 
reading,  writing,  or  being  read  to,  or  talking  with 
any  guests  who  might  be  at  Amerongen,  if  he 
thought  they  would  be  interesting,  and,  of  course, 
sympathetic  to  him. 

^  1920. 


52  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

He  doesn't  play  any  games,  nor  does  he  care 
at  all  for  cards.  Apparently  he  never  plays  bridge, 
which  would  help  to  while  away  the  too-long  hours. 
Talking  seems  to  be  his  most  congenial  pastime, 
and  of  this  he  never  wearies.  There  was,  how- 
ever, one  thing  in  which  he  was  deeply  inter- 
ested, and  this  was  the  building  of  a  Cottage 
Hospital. 

When  the  house  which  he  had  bought  at  Doom 
was  ready  for  him  to  live  in,  and  the  time  had 
definitely  come  for  him  to  leave  the  sheltering  roof 
of  Amerongen,  he  felt  he  would  like  to  leave  a 
lasting  memorial  to  the  place  in  gratitude  for  the 
refuge  it  had  given  him  at  the  bitterest  moment 
of  his  downfall.  Its  building  and  equipment 
interested  him  very  much,  so  that  all  during  the 
spring  and  summer  of  1920  he  had  this  to  occupy 
his  free  hours. 

It  is  a  very  nice  little  place,  standing  in  its  own 
grounds  (given  by  Count  Godard  Bentinck).  The 
whole  was  of  German  make,  and  the  erection  was 
superintended  by  a  German  foreman.  It  was 
designed  to  accommodate  twelve  patients.  There 
were  a  small  isolation  ward  to  hold  four  cases, 
two  rooms  each  containing  four  beds,  a  sitting- 
room  looking  on  to  a  verandah,  a  most  modernly 
equipped  operating  theatre,  a  large  sterilising  drum, 
two  bathrooms,  a  cleverly  arranged  kitchen,  and  a 
pantry  fitted  with  every  possible  necessity. 

Nothing  was  forgotten.  The  ex-Kaiser  watched 
its  rise  stage  by  stage.  He  carefully  inspected 
the  equipment,  even  to  the  linen  and  to  the  china 
dinner  and  tea  services,  of  which  pieces  were 
adorned  with  tlie  letter  "  W."     A  German  woman 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  63 

belonging  to  a  sisterhood  of  nurses  was  placed 
in  charge.  She,  by  the  way,  I  was  interested  to 
learn  in  a  short  conversation  I  had  with  her,  had 
nursed  British  soldiers  during  the  War.  She  wore 
a  black  costume  rather  like  a  nun's,  with  a  black 
bonnet  from  which  peeped  a  demure  little  white 
frill. 

The  curious  thing  about  this  elaborate  monu- 
ment of  the  ex-Kaiser's  gratitude  is  that  the 
village  people  seem  loth  to  use  it  !  They  are 
frightened  of  it  !  They  think  to  go  there  means 
certain  death  ;  nobody  would  surely  go  to  a  hos- 
pital unless  they  were  doomed !  Everything  is 
there :  a  competent  staff,  equipment  to  deal 
with  every  sort  of  ailment,  and  they  are  decidedly 
pleased  and  proud  to  possess  it  and  most  grateful 
to  the  Royal  donor — but  go  to  it  as  patients ! 
No  I  One's  case  must  be  really  desperate,  they 
think,  to  surrender  oneself  into  the  hands  of  nurses 
and  doctors  ! 

Sometimes  during  the  long  summer  evenings 
the  village  choir,  which  was  superintended  though 
not  trained  by  Countess  Elizabeth,  would  sing  out 
of  doors,  and  the  sound  of  their  voices  would  float 
pleasantly  over  the  moats.  In  anything  of  this 
sort  the  exile  took  much  pleasure  and  interest. 
And  so  the  days  would  somehow  be  consumed. 

Dinner  was  a  meal  he  never  missed,  being  very 
different  in  this  respect  from  the  ex-Kaiserin, 
whose  state  of  health,  which  caused  continual 
anxiety,  detained  her  in  her  rooms.  Very  often 
there  would  be  guests  for  dinner,  chiefly  relatives 
or  near  neighbours  of  the  host,  and  sometimes  the 
burgomasters  (mayors)  of  Amerongen  and  Leersum 


54  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

were  asked.  On  these  occasions  there  was  never 
any  excess  of  formality.  People  would  rise  as  he 
entered  the  room,  and  he  was  always  treated  as 
"  the  Emperor  " — a  practice  followed,  of  course, 
in  the  immediate  entourage  of  dethroned  monarchs. 

He  was  most  genial  at  the  evening  meal,  when 
people  he  liked  were  present,  and  readily  seized 
any  excuse  for  a  laugh.  Puns  on  names  were  one 
of  liis  little  indulgences,  and  he  soon  became 
versed  in  all  the  houseliold  jokes  (and  the  Dutch 
Bentincks  are  renowned  for  them,  and  keep  them 
up  from  one  generation  to  the  next  !).  War  and 
politics  were  not  usually  touched  upon  at  these 
times,  but  he  liked  to  hear  any  liarmless  social 
gossip  about  well-known  people,  and  relished  it  all 
the  more  if  these  happened  to  be  friends  or  ac- 
quaintances of  his. 

People  who  are  shy,  and  whose  shyness  causes 
them  to  be  gauche,  irritate  him,  and  sometimes,  if 
the  women  either  side  of  him  at  dinner  are  not 
very  forthcoming,  and  leave  it  to  him  to  start  a 
conversation,  thinking  that  this  is  what  he  would 
like,  he  might  ignore  them,  and  shoot  a  sudden 
question  across  the  table  to  some  one  whose  over- 
heard conversation  interests  him. 

But  his  bonhomie  can  be  and  often  is  very 
marked.  Hermann,  the  butler  at  Amerongen,  is 
quite  a  cliaracter,  and  possesses  a  humorous  but 
most  impassive  countenance.  If  a  question  arises 
at  dinner  about  a  place  or  date  or  a  person's 
name  that  none  can  answer,  the  ex-Kaiser  will 
turn  to  him  for  a  solution,  "  Well,  Hermann,  and 
what  do  you  say  ?  "  Hermann's  verdict,  delivered 
with  a  perfectly  stolid  face,  is  always  accepted  as 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  55 

final.  (He  happens  to  be  an  extremely  well-read 
butler.) 

In  connection  with  the  Emperor's  likes  and 
dislikes  as  to  people's  behaviour,  his  uncertain 
manner  makes  him  a  most  difficult  person  to  be 
sure  of  pleasing.  I  was  told  of  a  man  in  a  well- 
known  German  regiment  who,  at  receptions, 
always  studiously  kept  out  of  the  way,  and  never 
joined  in  the  circle  of  admirers  who  gyrated  round 
the  Imperial  magnet.     This  annoyed  the  Emperor, 

and  he  once  remarked,  "  AVhy  does  Z always 

hide  behind  the  curtains  ?  He  can't  expect  me  to 
go  and  pull  him  out  I  "  On  the  other  hand,  people 
who  are  too  forward  are  apt  to  incur  his  displeasure 
also. 

As  I  have  said  before,  the  ex-Emperor  is  never 
so  happy  as  when  he  is  talking.  After  dinner, 
when  the  rest  had  gone  to  bed  (the  ex-Empress, 
when  she  came  down  for  this  meal,  always  retired 
very  early),  Count  Godard  and  his  guest  would 
sit  till  late  into  the  night.  It  was  then  that  the 
really  animated  discussions  took  place. 

These  were  something  new  in  his  life.  As 
Kaiser  he  had  been  fond  of  talking  to  leaders  in 
the  arts  and  sciences,  in  politics  and  the  services, 
and  in  industries.  But  these  conversations  in  the 
days  when  he  was  continually  interrupted  by  affairs 
had  been  chiefly  in  snatches,  and  could  hardly  be 
described  as  sustained  and  intimate.  Now  he  was 
alone  with  his  host,  free  to  talk  for  hours  without 
having  to  weigh  his  words — as  in  the  days  when 
his  utterances  were  important,  and  were,  moreover, 
at  the  mercy  of  newspaper  reporters,  who  could 
twist  them  to  mean  what  they  liked.     And  here 


56  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

he  was  able  to  be  simpler  ;  there  was  no  necessity 
of  maintaining  an  Olympian  pose.  One  can 
imagine  the  two  men  sitting  together  thus,  when  the 
house  was  quiet  with  sleep.  The  most-discussed 
figure  in  contemporary  history — a  prisoner  !  The 
eagle  who  never  ceased  to  beat  through  the  world 
with  untiring  wings — a  prisoner  !  To  a  man  who 
never  rested,  this  life,  to  say  the  least,  must  have 
been  a  fantastic  houleversement. 

His  memory  appears  to  be  prodigious,  and  my 
uncle  told  me,  when  I  saw  him  in  March  1919, 
that  during  those  first  four  months  the  Emperor 
had  never  repeated  himself  in  conversation,  and 
always  had  something  interesting  and  knowledge- 
able to  say  on  whatever  subject  was  mentioned. 
He  seemed  to  know  something  about  everything, 
and  the  young  Bentincks  were  much  impressed  by 
his  versatility,  especially  when  he  discussed  their 
collections  with  them,  and  gave  them  helpful 
advice,  the  subjects  being  coins  and  stamps. 

He  was,  and  is,  always  ready  to  stay  up  to  any 
hour  of  the  night  once  the  talk  is  well  launched. 
He  smokes  endlessly  on  these  occasions,  but  he 
doesn't  seem  to  mind  what  he  smokes,  and  will 
take  anything  he  is  offered  or  finds  lying  about. 
He  takes  up  a  cigar  or  cigarette,  lights  it,  takes  a 
few  puffs,  throws  it  away,  and  innnediately  takes 
up  another.  He  will  go  on  like  this  quite  uncon- 
sciously ;  and  if  he  gets  on  to  a  favourite  topic  he 
will  discuss  it  for  hours  and  hours.  He  hardly 
ever  sits  when  talking,  but  moves  about  restlessly, 
gesticulating  freely. 

The  relief  of  being  able  to  speak  quite  openly 
must  have  been  great,  and  perhaps,  for  the  first 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  57 

time  since  his  accession,  he  was  able  to  show  what 
sort  of  a  man  he  really  was,  and  he  could  cease 
having  to  act  up  to  what  he  wished  the  world 
to  think  he  was.  Many  subjects  were,  of  course, 
touched  upon,  and  in  the  next  chapters  I  will  try 
to  give  a  slight  indication  of  his  views  on  well- 
known  men  and  things. 


CHAPTER  IV 

"  But  War's  a  game  which,  were  their  subjects  wise. 
Kings  would  not  play  at." 

The  Task,  Cowper. 

I  ASKED  Count  Godard  Bentinck  whether  the 
Emperor  really  thought  that  the  British  Army 
was  "  a  contemptible  little  army,"  adding  that  it 
was  surely  flying  in  the  face  of  Providence  to 
make  such  an  assertion  when  one  remembered  its 
past  glorious  achievements  ! 

His  answer  was  that  the  Emperor  meant, 
compared  to  continental  armies  it  was  small,  and 
that  as  to  the  word  "  contemptible,"  people  do 
not  always  mean  what  they  say  nor  weigh  their 
words  when  speaking  in  moments  of  intense 
pressure  and  excitement. 

This  much -repeated  phrase  of  the  ex-Kaiser's 
has  become  a  maddening  kind  of  boomerang 
which  keeps  whizzing  round  in  the  air  and  con- 
tinually returning  to  strike  its  thrower.  During 
the  War,  however,  he  learnt  that  it  was  by  no 
means  contemptible. 

Indeed,  he  very  definitely  admires  the  British 
Tommies.  He  has  said  so  again  and  again. 
"  Their  bull-doggedness,  the  marvellous  way  they 
kept  coming  up,"  are  given  as  perhaps  their  most 
outstanding  characteristic. 

"  The  English  soldiers  were  magnificent,"  said 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  59 

Captain  von  Ilsemann,  his  aide-de-camp,  repeating 
to  me  the  substance  of  the  ex-Kaiser's  continual 
references  to  our  soldiers.  "  How  we  admired 
them ;  and  how — let  me  say  so  in  all  truthfulness 
— ^how  we  liked  them  1  " 

Admiration  from  a  professional  point  of  view 
is  one  thing,  but  "  liking  "  is  another,  and,  as  I 
suppose  I  looked  a  little  incredulous,  he  went  on 
to  explain.  Some  of  the  reasons  for  the  liking 
are  curious.  "  Your  soldiers  looked  so  fit  and 
smart  and  well-turned-out  compared  to  other 
armies,"  he  said,  "  and  the  men  were  so  well 
shaved  I  How  we  looked  forward  to  getting  into 
British  trenches — we  knew  they  would  be  clean, 
and  that  we  should  at  least  find  plenty  of  soap 
and  shaving  apparatus  !  We  appreciated  these,  for 
towards  the  end  we  had  no  more  ourselves." 

Any  number  of  rosaries,  too,  were  found. 
"  That  was  too  funny  I  "  he  thought,  and  he  could 
not  account  for  it.  I  suggested  that  these  would 
only  be  found  in  any  number  in  trenches  which 
had  been  occupied  by  Irish  troops.  But  I  have 
been  told  that  English  soldiers,  no  matter  their 
creed,  bought  quantities  of  rosaries,  which  they 
wore  round  their  necks  by  way  of  adornment,  so 
this  fact  might  account  for  the  ones  found  in  the 
trenches  in  such  great  numbers  as  to  cause  comment. 

I  asked  once  whether  any  particular  regiments 
had  made  a  special  impression  on  their  minds, 
and,  although  the  whole  Army  was  praised  as 
being  the  most  gallant  foe  any  soldier  could  wish 
for,  the  achievements  of  the  Guards  were  com- 
mented upon  as  showing  what  finely  disciplined 
and  extra  highly  trained  troops  were  capable  of. 


60  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

It  was  thought  that  had  the  whole  Army  been 
trained  to  the  pitch  of  these  troops  the  War  would 
have  been  over  in  half  the  time,  but  this,  of  course, 
it  was  agreed  would  have  been  impossible.  It  is 
difficult  enough  to  make  ten  men  act  identically 
and  simultaneously  !  What  a  tour  de  force  to  make 
a  thousand  men  do  so  ! 

The  Kaiser  (as  he  then  was)  made  a  practice 
during  the  War  of  sending  for  men  who  had  had 
a  share  in  notable  deeds  but  had  been  captured. 
After  the  affair  at  Zeebrugge,  he  visited  the  place 
and  informed  one  of  the  British  prisoners  who 
had  taken  a  leading  part  in  the  attack  that  it 
was  "  a  brilliant  exploit,  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
of  the  War  !  What  made  you  do  it  ?  "  he  asked. 
"  Just  for  a  joke  !  "  responded  the  other.  "  How 
English  I  "  was  the  amused  rejoinder. 

A  thing  that  struck  me  in  all  these  talks  (and 
I  would  like  to  say  here  that  Captain  von  Ilsemann 
spoke  to  me  only  of  the  most  discussed  topics  of 
the  day,  and  naturally  from  the  German  point  of 
view)  was  the  reiteration  of  the  opinion  that  the 
British  soldier  was  "  always  a  gentleman." 

This  is  pleasant  to  be  told,  and  shows  that  as  a 
nation  we  have  improved  in  the  last  hundred 
years,  that  is,  if  any  credence  can  be  placed  in  the 
following  account,  which  is  an  extract  taken  from 
a  letter  written  by  Countess  Bentinck,  nee  Countess 
Aldenburg,  to  her  grandchild,  Sophie  Bentinck, 
who  married  Admiral  Sir  James  Hawkins- Whitshed  : 

"November  25,  1794. 

"  You  are  making  the  noblest  and  most  praise- 
worthy efforts  in  God's  great  cause  "  (here  again 


^ 


o 


<  o 


m 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  61 

we  see  the  tendency  shared  by  Philip  ii.  of  Spain 
and  William  ii.  of  Germany  to  draw  the  name  of 
the  Deity  into  the  squabbles  of  men)  "  and  that  of 
the  Sovereigns,  the  laws,  order,  and  public  secui'ity, 
but  all  these  virtuous  efforts  are  useless  and  even 
harmful  by  reasons  of  the  false  measures  adopted. 

"  You  pay  too  little  attention  in  choosing  the 
instruments  you  employ,  and  also  there  is  a  frightful 
want  of  discipline  in  your  armies. 

"  Instead  of  conquering  your  enemies  and 
protecting  your  allies,  your  soldiers  give  themselves 
up  to  such  atrocious  violence  and  such  murderous 
behaviour  that  your  troops,  who  should  guard  the 
possessions  of  your  allies,  are,  on  the  contrary, 
the  worst  of  destroyers  and  assassins.  They  have 
rendered  you  objects  of  horror.  .  .  .  The  English 
troops  completely  pillaged  the  Chateau  of  Batten- 
burg,  belonging  to  Count  de  Bentheim  Steinfort ; 
they  did  not  leave  one  wooden  skittle,  and  what 
they  couldn't  carry  away  they  smashed  to  pieces 
and  threw  out  of  the  windows.  They  committed 
the  same  horrors  at  the  town  of  Bhiiren,  belong- 
ing to  the  Prince  Stadholder.  .  .  .  Everywhere  it 
seems  they  have  been  guilty  of  the  same  excesses, 
so  that  all  the  provinces  refused  to  receive  them. 
.  .  .  But  at  Nymegen  they  sui'passed  in  violence 
everything  that  history  can  relate  of  the  most 
inhuman  hordes  of  barbarians  that  have  ever  dis- 
graced mankind. 

"  Before  they  gave  up  that  unhappy  city  it  was 
they  themselves,  with  fire  and  sword,  who  merci- 
lessly pillaged  it,  massacring  all  who  opposed  them, 
and  not  content  with  fighting  the  Dutch  "  (their 
allies  !),  "  who  came  to  help  their  countrymen, 
they  took  them  prisoners  and  drowned  them, 
destroying  the  bridge  by  which  they  themselves 
should  have  retired.  The  Scotch  Regiment  and 
that  of  Bentinck  were  the  innocent  victims  !  .  .  . 


62  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

Shall  I  tell  you  without  choosing  my  words  what 
public  opinion  thinks  of  a  wise  and  prudent  nation 
which  Europe  once  looked  upon  as  her  liberator  ? 
They  say  that  a  fatal  custom  has  unhappily  taken 
firm  hold  in  England  and  ruined  all  your  actions : 
that  all  your  measures  and  counsels  are  arrived 
at  by  brains  overheated  by  porter  and  wine,  that 
this  fatal  habit  prevails  in  your  councils,  in  your 
armies,  that  it  has  become  the  fashion  to  drink  ; 
that  members  of  the  Government  vie  with  each 
other  as  to  who  can  drown  and  disorganise 
his  intelligence  the  most — his  intelligence,  that 
grandest  privilege  of  man,  which  alone  differen- 
tiates him  from  the  animals  1 

"  One  groans  to  see  the  sublimest  nation  in 
Europe  grovel  through  this  detestable  habit,  and 
enslave  its  glory,  its  power,  its  great  talents  under 
barrels  and  bottles  !  .  .  . 

"  Adieu,  ma  chire  enfant.  I  am  ill  and  unhappy 
about  you  all,  and  I  love  you  as  much  as  I  detest 
Port  and  Burgundy  and  all  those  instruments  of 
hell  destined  to  corrupt  and  deteriorate  the  most 
estimable  and  honest  mortals  in  the  world."  * 

The  verdict  of  our  twentieth-century  enemies 
that    "the   English   fought   like   gentlemen"   and 

*  Extract  from  the  Memoirs  of  Charlotte  Sophie,  Countess 
Bentinck,  by  Mrs.  Aubrey  le  Blond. 

Charlotte  Sophie,  reigning  Countess  of  Aldenburg  —  which 
Grand-Duchy  lies  between  Hanover  and  Bremen  on  the  coast  of 
the  North  Sea — was  one  of  the  best-known  women  of  her  day 
(11715-1800).  She  was  on  terms  of  friendship  with  Frederick  the 
Great,  Voltaire,  Catherine  the  Great,  and  the  Queen  of  Sweden, 
with  whom  she  kept  up  a  constant  correspondence,  and  she  was 
related  to  a  large  number  of  the  Royal  houses  of  Middle  Europe. 

Her  two  Bentinck  granddaughters  married  Englishmen,  re- 
spectively Sir  Robert  Shore  Milnes,  Bart.,  and  Sir  James  Hawkins- 
Whitshed,  Bart.  It  was  to  the  eldest  of  her  two  grand- daughters 
that  the  letters  I  quote  were  written. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  63 

"their  morale  was  wonderful  "  is  satisfactory,  and 
proves  that  the  efforts  of  our  nation  builders  since 
those  wassailing  days  have  not  been  wasted. 

Talk  of  the  War  in  all  its  aspects  was  never- 
ending  during  the  ex-Kaiser's  stay  at  Amerongen, 
and  so  it  is  now  at  Doom,  and  in  his  visits  to  his 
old  host.  And  when,  as  often  happens,  the  sudden 
and  dramatic  end  of  the  War  is  discussed,  it  is 
always  to  the  British  propaganda,  with  its  deadly 
effect  on  the  spirit  of  resistance  of  the  German 
people,  that  he  attributes  his  downfall. 

"  Ach,  diese  propaganda  von  Northcliffe  I  Es 
war  ko-loss-al  !  "  ("  Oh,  that  propaganda  of  North- 
cliffe !  It  was  colossal !  ")  And  after  repeating 
these  words  to  me,  his  aide-de-camp,  tapping 
his  brow  with  his  finger-points  and  screwing  up 
his  eyes,  ejaculated,  "  Was$  fiir  ein  Mensch  !  " 
("  What  a  man  !  ")  "  If  we  had  had  a  NorthcHffe 
we  could  have  won  the  War,"  he  added. 

I  heard  this  said  often.  And  I  learned,  while 
I  was  at  Amerongen,  that  this,  so  far  as  the 
ex- Kaiser  was  concerned,  wa&  not  a  willing  tribute, 
but  one  wrung  from  him.  He  regards  Lord 
Northcliffe  with  intense  bitterness,  looks  on  him 
as  his  worst  and  most  deadly  enemy  ;  he  cannot 
speak  of  the  propaganda  without  this  personal 
animosity  clearly  showing  itself. 

Captain  von  Ilsemann  told  me  that  the  power 
wielded  by  Lord  Northcliffe  was  a  constant  source 
of  wonderment  to  the  exile.  "  It  is  incredible  ! 
What  Lord  Northcliffe  thinks  to-day,  England 
thinks  to-morrow,"  he  says.  And  he  is  puzzled 
to  know  why. 

The  Secrets  of  Crewe  House  was  sent  for  when 


64  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

I  was  there,  so  maybe  he  is  now  conversant  with 
its  contents.  Practically  every  important  English 
book  on  the  War  finds  its  way  to  Amerongen, 
and  although  the  ex-Emperor  seldom  reads  them 
himself,  he  soon  hears  from  his  friends  what  the 
gist  of  them  is,  and  he  is  always  kept  cognisant 
of  the  English  point  of  view.  The  Times  is  taken 
daily  at  Amerongen,  and  sometimes  leading  articles 
and  criticisms  of  important  people  and  books  are 
shown  to  him.  Extracts  from  others  of  our 
newspapers  and  periodicals  also  occasionally  find 
their  way  to  him. 

Possibly  the  editors  and  writers  would  some- 
times be  surprised  at  the  interpretation  put  on 
their  articles  at  Doom ;  for  certain  schools  of 
continental  thought  have  always  believed  that 
British  policy  is  subtly  Machiavellian.  That  Al- 
bion is  perfide  (France's  pithy  epigram  on  the 
British  political  character)  is  firmly  held  to  be 
true  in  the  minds  of  the  Emperor  and  his  minions. 
A  book  in  which  he  was  much  interested  was  The 
Letters  of  Major  Henry  Bentinck,  third  son  of  Count 
Godard's  eldest  brother,  and  my  brother-in-law. 

These  letters  contain  more  a  soldier's  philo- 
sophical and  religious  views  than  an  account  of 
his  doings,  but  they  also  say  some  hard  things  of 
the  Germans.  He  looked  through  the  book  and 
admired  its  arrangement,  but  did  not  read  it. 

Three  much-discussed  books  were  Mr.  J.  M. 
Keynes'  Economic  Consequences  of  the  Peace, 
which  was  thought  to  give  an  extremely  fair  view 
of  the  situation ;  Mi'.  Harold  Begbie's  Lord 
Haldane,  which  was  read  with  great  interest ;  and 
von  Bethmann  HoUweg's  exposition  of  his  policy 


MAJOR  HENRV   DENTIN CK 

Coldstream  Guards.  Born  1881 — Died  of  Wounds 
in  France  1916.  (My  husband's  brother).  3rd  son 
of  Lieut. -Colonel  Count  Bentinck  (6th  Count). 
His  letters  have  been  published  under  the  title  of 
"Letters  of  Major  Henry  Bentinck." 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  65 

before  and  after  the  "  scrap  of  paper  "  and  "  Iiack- 
ing  through  "  Belgium  avowals.  They  were  sur- 
prised that  the  latter  had  not  been  published  in 
English,  in  view  of  the  notoriety  of  the  author  in 
our  country  ;  but  a  translation  has  since  appeared 
(October  1920). 

One  thing  the  ex-Kaiser  cannot  understand  is 
the  falling  of  Lord  Haldane  into  disfavour  with 
the  British.  He  considers  Lord  Haldane  the 
greatest  War  Minister  we  have  had. 

His  point  of  view,  as  his  aide-de-camp 
explained  to  me,  was  that  Britain  must  have  a 
strong  navy,  just  as  Germany  must  have  a  strong 
army.  In  addition,  in  Germany  von  Tirpitz 
wanted  a  strong  navy,  and  the  German  people 
supported  him,  although  they  groaned  under  the 
taxation ;  Lord  Haldane  was  a  supporter  of 
national  military  service,  but  the  British  would 
not  countenance  any  scheme  involving  conscrip- 
tion. So,  according  to  the  ex-Kaiser,  the  only 
thing  Lord  Haldane  could  do  was  to  have  relays 
of  highly  trained  short-service  troops,  who  could 
be  called  up  at  any  moment  after  disband- 
ment,  and  to  get  raw  material  through  the 
Territorials,  and  train  them  so  that  they  could 
quickly  be  turned  into  soldiers.  That  was  a 
brilliant  plan. 

"  Furchtbar  klug  !  "  ("  Frightfully  clever  !  "), 
commented  the  adjutant.  "  You  say  Britain  was 
not  prepared  for  war.  She  had  never  been  so 
prepared.  She  was  as  prepared  as  the  people 
would  allow  themselves  to  be." 

Incidentally  I  told  him  I  had  been  present 
in  the  House  of  Lords  on  the  occasion  of  Lord 


66  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

Roberts'  great  speech  there  in  favour  of  national 
mihtary  service,  and  he  was  interested  to  learn 
how  uncordially  it  had  been  received. 

I  mentioned  just  now  that  one  of  the  chief 
things  which  struck  me  in  our  conversation  was 
the  genuine  admiration  felt  for  the  British  soldier  ; 
I  was  also  struck  by  another  point — ^their  equally 
genuine  dislike  of  British  politicians. 

"  We  don't  dislike  the  English,  but  we  hate 
your  politicians."  It  seemed  to  me  that  in  the 
exile's  entourage  they  do  not  consider  those 
responsible  for  guiding  British  policy  so  stupid  as 
the  British  themselves  are  inclined  to  think  ! 

And  this  view  seems  to  be  held  also  by  the 
French,  judging  by  a  statement  made  in  the 
Paris  Senate  on  21st  March  1921  by  M.  Lucien 
Hubert,  reporter  of  the  Senate's  Foreign  Affairs 
Committee. 

"  Great  Britain,"  he  said,  "  showed  her  skill 
in  winning  friends  everywhere,  having  allies  in 
every  political  party  and  group  abroad,  making 
use  of  everything  British,  without  exception  of 
party  or  doctrine,  supporting  her  friends  till 
their  final  triumph,  rescuing  them  when  in 
danger,  and  protecting  them  in  time  of  stress. 
That,"  he  said,  "  was  the  basis  of  British  propa- 
ganda, and  she  had  eyes  and  ears  and  hands 
everywhere." 

President  Wilson,  the  ex-Kaiser  thinks,  gave 
the  final  tip-over  to  his  tottering  throne — a  view 
not  without  its  piquancy  when  we  remember  that 
the  President  (to  quote  Mr.  Keynes)  "  was  made 
in  Paris  to  appear  to  be  taking  the  part  of  the 
Germans,  and  laid  himself  open  to  the  suggestion 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  67 

— ^to  which  he  was  very  sensitive — of  being  '  pro- 
German.'  " 

How  the  President's  iniGiuence  told  is  set  forth 
in  this  fashion.  The  President  had  announced 
that  he  would  never  make  peace  with  a  Hohen- 
zoUern  ;  and  thus  it  would  have  been  excessively 
difficult  for  the  Kaiser  to  make  a  stand  for  his 
dynasty  in  Germany  itself  without  bringing  added 
disasters  to  the  country,  with  the  Allied  armies 
already  nearing  its  frontiers. 

The  people  were  starving,  the  morale  of 
the  army  had  gone,  and  Germany  was  well- 
nigh  mad  with  hunger  and  unrest  caused  by 
Bolshevist  agent  provocateur,  German  Socialists, 
and  Northcliffe  propaganda.  All  they  wanted 
was  food,  and  nothing  but  peace  could  bring 
them  that. 

In  the  ordinary  course  of  events  the  Emperor 
need  not  necessarily  have  abdicated  because  he 
had  lost  the  War,  but  he  was  forced  to  this  action 
by  Wilson's  ultimatum. 

W^at  puzzled  the  ex-Kaiser  for  long  was  that 
the  German  people,  who  had  been  so  obedient  to 
his  will,  so  dazzled  by  his  might  and  so  fulsome  in 
adulation  for  thirty  years,  should  have  so  lightly 
let  him  go  in  November  1918  ;  and,  moreover, 
that  they  should  have  abandoned  him,  "  the 
All  Highest,"  for  persons  whose  position  was 
not  such  as  to  gain  them  much  public  esteem  in 
official-worshipping  Germany — persons  destitute 
alike  of  social  prestige  and  experience  in  the 
complicated  art  of  governing. 

That,  indeed,  puzzles  him  still ;  but  he  has 
some    explanations    ready,     now    that     he     has 


68  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

had  leisure  to  reflect  on  the  events  of  that 
November.  The  ease  witli  whieli  the  change  was 
made  was,  in  his  opinion,  due  to  a  misrepresenta- 
tion of  the  motives  which  caused  him  to  flee  to 
HoHand. 

The  German  people,  he  thinks,  were  led  to 
believe  that  by  his  flight  he  had  deserted  them 
in  their  hour  of  greatest  need,  and,  as  a  result, 
anger  against  him  became  as  bitter  as  trust  before 
had  been  complete.  Perhaps  they  would  not  have 
accepted  this  view,  and  certainly  would  not  have 
submitted  to  their  new  leaders,  had  they  not  been 
badly  shaken  by  our  propaganda  and  by  privations 
at  home  and  bewildered  by  the  disasters  in  the 
field  ;  and,  above  all,  if  the  Allied  resolve  to  make 
"  no  peace  with  a  Hohenzollern  "  had  not  been 
dinned  into  their  ears. 

A  contributory  factor  is  believed  to  have  been 
the  work  of  the  German  Socialists.  They  had 
for  more  than  two  years  sought  to  break  the 
fighting  spirit  of  the  army  and  of  the  youths 
whose  turn  Avas  coming  to  fill  the  ranks.  Mothers 
and  wives  (this  is  the  official  version)  had  been 
paid  a  weekly  sum  as  bribe  to  write  distressed 
and  distressing  letters  to  relatives  at  the  Front, 
with  a  view  to  weakening  their  morale  as  much  as 
possible. 

The  imputation  that  his  flight  was  due  to 
concern  for  his  own  bodily  safety  without  regard 
to  the  people's  interest  still  rankles  in  the  ex- 
Kaiser's  mind.  What  else  was  there  for  him  to 
do  but  withdraw  ?  he  asks ;  and  then  he  goes 
over  again  the  story  of  the  first  days  of  the 
Revolution. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  69 

He  proposed  to  go  to  Berlin.  "  Give  me  some 
troops,"  he  said  to  Hindenburg.  "  There  are  no 
troops  that  will  follow  Your  Majesty  there," 
replied  the  veteran.  "  What  !  None  ?  "  "  None, 
Your  Majesty  ! "  He  then  thought  he  would 
reach  Berlin  somehow,  anyhow,  to  be  at  the 
heart  of  the  trouble.  Inquiries  were  made  to  the 
capital.  He  was  told  by  telegraph  that  he  must 
not  come ;  that  the  streets  were  running  with 
blood.  His  entourage  urged  him  not  to  go,  as 
that  would  only  add  to  the  country's  plight  with- 
out any  advantage  to  him.  Then  Prince  Max  of 
Baden's  hasty  announcement  of  an  abdication 
proved  decisive. 

It  has  been  pointed  out  that  Hindenburg  on 
his  return  to  Berlin  got  a  magnificent  reception  ; 
but  that  was  after  he  had  taken  the  armies 
back,  and — ^Hindenburg  was  not  the  Kaiser  ;  his 
presence  did  not  affect  the  political  situation. 
Suicide  as  an  alternative  to  flight  was  freely 
spoken  of  in  England,  people  perhaps  remember- 
ing how  often  the  Kaiser's  ancestor,  Frederick  the 
Great,  had  contemplated  this  escape  from  the 
evils  that  followed  his  too  frequent  wars.  But 
there  were  plenty  of  precedents  for  the  flight  of 
monarchs  and  their  temporary  or  permanent 
residence  outside  theii*  country  during  revolu- 
tions ;  and  the  ease  with  which  Holland  could  be 
reached  must  have  been  tempting. 

I  heard  the  theory  discussed  that  it  would 
have  been  to  the  advantage  of  the  dynasty,  or,  at 
any  rate,  of  the  monarchical  idea,  not  to  sign 
the  Armistice  conditions  offered.  It  is  considered 
that  had  Baron  von  Lersner,  representing  the  old 


70  THE  EX-I^ISER  IN  EXILE 

school,  and  not  Herr  Erzberger,  representing  the 
transitional,  been  in  charge  on  the  German  side 
during  the  negotiations  the  history  of  the  next 
few  months  would  have  been  wiitten  differently. 

A  refusal  to  sign  and  a  continued  retreat 
before  the  Allied  armies  would  not  necessarily, 
according  to  this  view,  have  involved  much 
additional  slaughter  ;  the  German  Army,  we  were 
told,  had  not  then  sufficient  fit  divisions  to  do 
much  fighting.  On  the  other  hand,  the  late  Lord 
Fisher  in  his  Memoirs  relates  that  General  Plumer 
had  told  him  that  he  was  personally  convinced 
of  the  efficiency  of  the  German  Ai'my  at  the 
moment  of  the  Armistice.  We  also  read  in  the 
same  book  a  statement  of  Mr.  Lloyd  George's 
in  the  Guildhall,  9th  November  1918,  that  one 
of  our  foremost  Ministers  had  said  on  the  previous 
Sunday  that  "  the  Allied  Powers  were  on  their 
last  legs." 

All  this  evidence  is  very  conflicting,  and  per- 
haps we  are  still  too  near  to  the  subject  to  get 
the  true  perspective.  Had  the  Armistice  not  been 
signed  when  it  was.  Allied  troops  would  have 
presumably  marched  to  Berlin  notwithstanding 
the  above  statements,  for  Mr.  H.  C.  O'Neil  in  his 
History  of  the  War  tells  us  the  French  had  many 
fresh  divisions  ready  to  move  if  the  Armistice 
terms  were  not  accepted. 

Again  we  read  in  Could  We  Have  Avoided  or 
Won  the  War?  by  Colonel  Bauer  (Ludendorff's 
political  adviser),  that  "the  second  Battle  of 
the  Marne  was  the  first  great  disaster  and  the 
real  turning-point  of  the  War."  Even  in  July 
he   said  that  the  army  was  worn   out,    yet   Von 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  71 

Kiihlman,  whose  opinion  is  to  be  trusted,  was 
displaced  by  the  miHtary  clique  for  saying  that 
"  the  War  was  not  to  be  ended  by  purely  military 
decisions."  * 

The  Monarchist  idea  seemed  to  be,  that  had 
the  Allies  gone  to  Berlin  much  bloodshed  would 
have  been  avoided,  and  their  occupation  would 
have  led  to  the  establishment  of  order  by  the 
bringing  of  food  and  relief.  The  feeling  in  those 
circles  seems  to  be  that  undue  pressure  was 
brought  to  bear  upon  Herr  Erzberger,  who,  in 
their  opinion,  should  not  have  signed  the  Armistice 
so  hastily. 

The  dominating  idea  was  that  the  old  hereditary 
ruling  faction  knew  what  would  eventually  be  for 
the  good  of  the  people  better  than  the  men  who, 
by  a  sudden  extraordinary  turn  of  fortune,  found 
themselves  masters  of  an  immense  power  which 
they  were  not  trained  to  handle. 

I  noticed  that  Monarchists,  while  brooding 
over  such  ideas,  were  more  angry  with  their  fellow- 
Germans  for  abandoning  the  Kaiser  than  with  the 
Allies  for  seeking  his  overthrow  ;  the  latter  was 
an  understandable  course  in  enemies,  the  former 
an  unforgivable  crime  !  And  the  more  the  ex- 
Kaiser  reflects  on  the  circumstances  of  his  fall,  the 
more  does  it  appear  to  him  that  "  the  unkindest 
cut  of  all  "  came  from  his  former  subjects  rather 
than  from  his  enemies.  For  his  opinion  is  that  he 
strove  to  do,  and  in  fact  did,  great  things  for  his 
country  in  all  departments  of  world-trade  and 
politics ;  that  his  country's  benefit  was  always 
placed  first.     Even  for  the  War,  inglorious  though 

» H.  C.  O'Neil,  History  of  the  War. 


72  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

its  ending  was  for  him,  he  thinks  he  can  make  a 
case  before  Germans. 

And,  after  all,  for  whom  and  what  was  he 
displaced  ?  As  he  walks  about  the  grounds  in 
Doom,  the  question  leaves  him  "  marvelling 
greatly." 


CHAPTER  V 

"  To  be  prepared  for  war  is  one  of  the  most  effectual  ways  of 
preserving  peace." — George  Washington. 

"  An  armed  peace  keeps  the  peace." — Bismarck. 

The  rapid  strides  taken  by  Socialists  and  Social 
Democrats  in  governing  Europe  is  a  continual 
source  of  comment  by  the  ex- Kaiser.  As  a  rule 
he  is  reserved  in  his  remarks  on  British  public 
men,  but  one  thing  about  them  which  strikes 
him  is  that  they  are  still  so  largely  ckawn  from 
the  old  ruling  classes.  Lord  Curzon,  the  Cecils, 
Mr.  Balfour,  Mr.  Churcliill,  are,  he  thinks, 
of  a  type  almost  unique  in  the  Governments 
of  post-war  Europe.  The  circumstance  is  com- 
mented on  when,  as  often  enough  happens,  the 
relative  advantages  of  absolute  and  limited  mon- 
archies are  considered.  Mr.  Lloyd  George  is  con- 
sidered more  of  the  type  that  comes  to  the  front 
in  France. 

Mr.  Churchill  is  admired  for  the  part  he  played 
in  the  Gallipoli  adventure,  and  also  because  he  is 
believed  to  be  largely  responsible  for  the  intro- 
duction of  the  Tanks — ^the  Tanks  which  were  so 
typical  of  England  !  Heavy  and  slow,  but  how 
relentless  when  once  set  in  motion  I 

Gallipoli,  in  fact,  is  more  talked  of  than  any 
other  war  exploit  on  the  British  side.  The  con- 
ception was  "  marvellous."     If  it  had  succeeded 


74  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

how  brilliant  would  have  been  the  results  I  "  Do 
you  know  how  nearly  you  were  through  ? " 
Captain  von  Ilsemann  asked  me.  "  You  were 
through  once,  in  fact,  if  you  had  had  enough 
reserves  to  push  on." 

But  the  most  wonderful  thing  in  the  eyes  of 
the  ex-Kaiser  was  the  landing  and  holding-on  by 
our  soldiers.  To  be  able  to  get  men  to  do  a  thing 
like  that  was  astonishing.  He  thought  it  would 
be  a  most  difficult  thing  to  get  troops  anywhere  in 
the  world  to  attempt  what  they  achieved. 

But  when  one  saw  the  superb  specimens  of 
manhood  which  Australia  sent  over,  one  could  well 
believe  that  there  was  nothing  such  troops  would 
tremble  at,  and  the  names  of  these  splendid  bush- 
raised  boys  will  be  for  ever  remembered  in  wonder 
and  gratitude  by  England. 

During  the  War,  Australia's  naval  expenditure 
amounted  to  more  than  £87,000,000.  It  is  almost 
incredible  that  a  nation  consisting  of  5,000,000 
of  people  should  have  borne  manfully  such  a 
crushing  burden,  and  this  wonderful  feat  will 
ever  stand  out  gloriously  in  their  annals.  In 
his  speech  on  Anzac  Day,  April  1921,  Mr.  Churchill 
referred  to  the  Australian  troops  thus  : 

"  That  event  (the  coming  of  the  Australians 
and  New  Zealanders)  was  unprecedented  in  all 
history.  Never  before  had  an  army  of  that  kind 
been  drawn  across  such  tremendous  distances  by 
the  compulsion  purely  of  ideas  and  sentiments. 
Even  as  a  purely  military  operation  the  landing 
on  the  GallipoH  Peninsula  would  always  rank  as 
an  achievement  of  the  first  order." 

I  have  travelled   in  all   our  Colonies,  and  the 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  75 

thing  which  struck  me  and  touched  me  the  most 
was  that  whenever  they  used  the  word  "  Home  " 
they  always  meant  England — even  those  who  had 
been  born  in  the  Dominions. 

Mr.  Churchill  came  in  for  a  great  deal  of 
attention  on  account  of  his  speech  in  the  House  of 
Commons  last  July,  and  his  subsequent  article  in 
the  London  Evening  News  (28th  July  1920)  on  the 
menace  of  the  Bolshevist  armies  and  the  part 
Germany  might  play  in  meeting  it.  "  A  Poland 
broken,"  he  wrote,  *'  would  mean  a  Germany  con- 
fronted with  an  awful,  a  wonderful  choice.  .  .  . 
It  would  be  open  to  the  German  people  either  to 
sink  their  own  social  structure  in  the  Bolshevist 
welter,  or  by  a  supreme  effort  of  firmness,  self- 
restraint,  and  courage  to  build  a  dyke  of  lawful, 
patient  strength  against  the  flood  of  Red  Bar- 
barism flowing  from  the  East.'* 

There  was  general  agreement  with  that  view. 
"  But,"  pointed  out  Captain  von  Ilsemann,  "  one 
moment  you  want  us  to  be  a  bulwark — a.  dyke  of 
lawful,  patient  strength — ^and  the  next  we  are  only 
allowed  200,000  men,  not  even  enough  to  police 
our  frontiers,  far  less  to  control  the  arming  of 
Bolshevists  or  Spartakists  in  Germany." 

Perhaps  it  is  not  strange  that  talk  should 
seldom  turn  on  the  war  on  the  sea  ;  the  ex-Kaiser's 
natural  place  was  in  the  field,  not  on  the  wave. 
Wliat  repercussions  on  Doom  recent  discussions 
here  of  the  Battle  of  Jutland  have  had  I  do  not 
know,  though  I  am  sure  the  controversy  is  being 
closely  followed  ;  but  I  heard  no  allusions  to  naval 
matters  while  I  was  at  Amerongen  excepting  the 
following ; 


76  THE  EX-KjilSER  IN  EXILE 

A  German  naval  officer  told  nie  about  the 
struggle  at  Kiel  just  before  the  end.  No  amount 
of  organisation,  he  said,  could  have  kept  the  war- 
ship crews  in  hand.  They  were  practically  never 
out  of  port,  and  discipline  gradually  broke  down  ; 
it  was  a  wonder  to  him  that  the  men  "  stuck  it  " 
as  long  as  they  did.  As  it  was  the  work  of  our 
Navy  that  kept  the  men  shut  up  in  port,  and  as 
it  was  by  the  Kiel  mutiny  (and  the  British  propa- 
ganda) that  the  Revolution  was  set  going,  this 
testimony  may  help  as  a  juster  idea  of  the  share 
of  the  Navy  in  the  closing  stages  of  the  War. 

He  told  me  that  in  order  to  escape  from  Kiel 
with  his  life  he  had  to  discard  his  uniform,  but 
before  doing  this  "  it  was  necessary  I  had  some 
others  to  put  on,  you  see,"  and  he  had  a  prolonged 
search  to  find  a  disreputable  enough  suit  of  clothes 
to  render  him  immune  from  sudden  attacks  of  an 
exceedingly  unpleasant  natm-e. 

On  the  other  hand,  I  was  told  that  the  sailors  met 
in  the  train  after  leaving  Kiel  were  the  gentlest  of  men, 
and  willingly  handed  their  food  to  an  English  lady 
(my  informant)  who  happened  to  be  travelling  with  a 
great  many  of  them  on  the  night  of  the  Revolution. 

Air  fighting  is  another  neglected  theme.  I 
never  heard  of  any  talk  about  the  raids  on  London, 
excepting  when  the  ex-Kaiser's  aide-de-camp  asked 
me  about  my  experiences.  I  told  him  of  an  hotel 
dinner  at  Claridge's  during  the  week  in  Sejitember 
1917,  when  there  were  four  raids  on  the  town,  and 
of  how  uncaring  and  fatalistic  every  one  seemed  to 
be  ;  of  the  exceeding  gaiety  of  the  guests  ;  and  of 
the  fact  that  whenever  the  shelling  became  hideously 
loud  the  band  played  louder  still. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  77 

"  But  how  could  you  ?  "  he  asked. 

I  told  him  that  from  wliat  I  had  seen — ^that 
was  in  the  West  End — people  didn't  really  seem  to 
mind  much,  and  became  quite  accustomed  to  the 
raids  ;  and  that  we  had  stood  at  the  hotel  door  to 
watch  the  shrapnel  running  down  the  street  as 
though  blown  by  a  giant  wind. 

"  But  how  could  you  ?  "  he  repeated.  "  It 
must  have  been  terrible,  terrible  !  "  And  alto- 
gether he  was  much  struck  to  hear  how  little,  on 
the  whole,  people  had  been  affected. 

This  had  been  a  form  of  warfare  which  he  had 
not  experienced,  and  he  was  interested  to  hear  of 
the  coming  of  the  Zeppelins  over  my  old  home 
Ext  on,  in  Rutland ;  of  how  the  first  intimation  of 
their  proximity  was  a  muffled,  rhythmical  booming 
which  was  heard  down  the  chimneys,  followed  by 
the  fluttering  and  crowing  of  the  pheasants.  I 
told  him  of  one  occasion  when  many  bombs  were 
dropped  within  a  few  miles  of  the  place  into  a 
field  in  which  turnips  had  been  stacked  in  conical 
heaps.  There  had  been  a  heavy  fall  of  snow  the 
day  before,  and  these  were  thickly  covered  and 
perhaps  looked  like  the  tops  of  tents.  Any- 
how, no  other  reason  could  be  imagined  for  the 
dropping  of  a  considerable  number  of  bombs 
in  this  very  isolated  spot.  On  this  occasion 
the  house  rocked,  and  several  panes  of  glass 
were  broken.  The  noise  was  both  terrifying  and 
terrific. 

I  spoke  of  the  Daily  Mail  map,  showing  the 
places  hit  in  the  raids  on  London  ;  these  included 
the  Royal  Mint,  St.  Pancras  Station,  Victoria 
Embankment,     Ministry     of     Munitions,     North- 


78  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

Western  Railway,  War  Office,  Scotland  Yard,  and 
the  Admiralty,  but  he  had  not  seen  it. 

During  his  exile  the  ex-Kaiser  has  meditated 
much  on  the  relative  advantages  of  autocracy  and 
constitutional  monarchy.  His  conclusion  is,  I 
gathered,  that  a  limited  monarchy  is  the  form  of 
government  best  suited  in  our  days — a  fairly 
obvious  one  for  him  after  his  experiences. 

In  his  book.  Count  Czernin,  Austro-Hungarian 
Foreign  Minister  in  Berlin,  says :  "  In  his  youth 
the  Emperor  William  did  not  always  adhere 
strictly  to  the  laws  of  Constitution ;  he  sub- 
sequently cured  himself  of  this  failing,  and  never 
acted  independently  of  his  councillors.  At  the 
time  when  I  had  official  dealings  with  him  he 
might  have  served  as  a  model  for  Constitutional 
conduct." 

It  seems  there  has  always  been  a  difference  of 
opinion  between  the  Prussian  kings  and  their 
people  as  to  the  best  mode  of  governing,  and 
Frederick  William  iv.  (1795-1861)  greatly  dis- 
liked the  Prussian  Bureaucratic  Government  and 
wanted  to  turn  it  into  a  Constitutional  Monarchy. 

During  the  Revolution  in  1848  he  appeared  as 
a  Nationalist.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  brother, 
William  i.,  first  German  Emperor  and  most  beloved 
of  Prussian  rulers.  William  ii.  has  said  that  he, 
too,  thinks  a  Constitutional  Monarchy  to  be  the 
best,  though  the  public  might  find  this  hard  to 
believe  remembering  his  summary  dismissal  of 
Prince  Bismarck. 

"  Wliat  made  you  send  him  away  ?  "  Count 
Godard  Bentinck  once  asked  the  ex-Emperor, 
when  the  Iron  Chancellor's  name  cropped  up  in 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  79 

conversation  during  one  of  their  long  evening  talks 
at  Amerongen. 

"  Let  nobody  think  I  did  not  admire  Bismarck," 
he  replied.  "  I  think  he  was  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  men  of  the  age.  But  I  was  very  young, 
and  I  saw  that  Bismarck  would  be  the  uncrowned 
Emperor.  /  could  not  tolerate  that.  He  or  I  had 
to  go." 

As  the  years  went  on  he  learned  to  accept 
much  that  was  "  intolerable  "  to  him  earlier. 

He  holds  that  it  was  largely  the  bureaucrats  of 
Europe  who  brought  on  the  War,  and  I  shall  refer 
to  this  later  in  regard  to  a  little  incident  relating 
to  Sukhomlinoff.* 

Naturally  the  then  autocrat  of  the  United 
States  figured  largely  in  the  discussions  with  his 
host,  to  which  the  sittings  of  the  Peace  Conference 
gave  rise.  "  Oh,  Wilson  !  "  ^  he  exclaimed  to  Count 
Godard.  "  He  is  a  greater  autocrat  than  I  or  the 
Czar  of  Russia  ever  was.  He  has  got  more  power 
than  either  of  us  had.     I  call  him  Kaiser  Wilson." 

But  his  views  on  the  limitations  of  that  personal 
power  were  much  the  same  as  those  current 
among  diplomatists  at  that  time.  "  You  can  see 
he  does  not  understand  the  Old  Europe.  It  will 
break  him." 

Similarly  he  shared  the  common  doubts  of  the 
possibility  of  establishing  a  real  League  of  Nations. 
Only  if  men  were  ideal  beings  could  the  scheme 
succeed  ;  as  mankind  is  constituted  at  present,  it 
was  an  impracticable  proposal.  But  although  he 
laughs    at    Wilson    for    his    ambitious    autocratic 

*  Russian  War  Minister,  1914. 

*  President  of  the  United  States  during  the  Great  War. 


80  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

ideas,  it  was  always  rather  repugnant  to  him  to 
suffer  any  infringement  of  his  absolute  control  in 
State  affairs  ;  and  I  doubt  if  the  idea  is  any  less 
repugnant  to  him  now,  clearly  though  he  sees  an 
even  greater  limitation  was  necessary.  To  get  a 
true  mental  pictm-e  of  the  man's  environment — 
and  environment  is  nearly  everything — one  must 
remember  that  the  idea  of  the  "  Divine  Right  of 
Kings  "  (the  origins  for  wliich  belief  are  so  ably  put 
forth  by  Sir  George  Frazer  in  liis  remarkable  book 
The  History  of  the  Divinity  of  Kingship)  was  no 
empty  phrase  to  him,  but  a  deep  reality  confirmed 
by  the  traditions  of  his  House,  his  dazzling  position 
in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  and  his  firm  conviction 
that  he  was  in  some  sort  of  mysterious  way  the 
"  vice-regent  "  of  Christ  on  earth. 

His  belief  was  a  natm^al  outcome  of  the  "  Holy 
Roman  Empire  "  idea  of  Pope  and  Emperor  ruling 
Europe  between  them,  one  representing  tlie  Deity 
in  spiritual  things  and  the  other  in  material  affairs. 
No  doubt  he  was  attracted  by  the  notion  of  re- 
viving the  "  Empire  "  in  some  modernised  form. 
It  will  not  be  forgotten  that  he  visited  Leo  xiii. 
in  Rome,  and  that  this  event  was  followed  by  a 
distinct  rapprochement  between  the  Vatican  and 
Germany,  Protestant  Power  though  the  latter  was. 

It  may  or  may  not  be  significant  in  tliis  con- 
nection to  remember  that  on  his  retirement  in 
1909  Bulow  (a  Prince  of  Prussia  since  1905),  and 
"  My  Bornjird,"  as  his  Royal  master  affectionately 
called  him,  went  to  live  in  Rome  with  his  Italian 
wife.  Princess  Marie  Camporeale,  since  when  only 
the  grave  has  excelled  him  in  silence.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  he  rejected  Mr.  Chamberlain's 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  81 

overtures  for  an  Anglo-German-American  Alliance, 
and  that  he  never  took  much  trouble  to  relax  the 
Anglo- German  tension,  for  so  long  a  bogey  in 
Europe. 

Now,  when  the  ex-Kaiser  considers  the  role 
of  a  ruler  in  the  light  of  his  experiences,  it  is  the 
disadvantages  of  autocracy  that  are  most  apparent 
to  him.  "  The  world  says  I  am  mad,"  he  said  some 
time  after  his  abdication,  "  but  if  it  knew  what 
tremendous  difficulties  I  have  had  to  contend  with  it 
would  perhaps  be  surprised  that  I  am  at  all  sane." 

With  sixty  millions  of  Germans  putting  photo- 
graphs of  "  Unser  Kaiser  "  in  their  front  parlours, 
and  with  flatterers  fawning  at  his  feet — "  he,  I 
think,"  says  Count  Czernin,  "  was  the  only  monarch 
in  Europe  whose  hand  it  was  customary  to  kiss  ; 
not  even  the  Hapsburgs  suffered  their  entourage 
to  do  this " ;  and  to  what  really  nauseating 
flattery  he  was  subjected  may  be  learned  from  Dr. 
Bodam  Kriegan's  Der  Kaiser  im  Felde — with  such 
stimulants  to  the  belief  that  he  was  a  demi-god  it 
is  not  surprising  that  he  found  "  tremendous  diffi- 
culties "  when  confronted  with  the  hard  facts  of 
the  outer  world  that  are  so  different  fi'om  courtiers' 
fanciful  pictures. 

Another  monarch  who  firmly  believed  in  the 
"  Divine  Right  "  was  Philip  ii.  of  Spain,  whose 
conception  of  his  place  in  the  Universe  is  illustrated 
by  the  fact  that  he  required  all  important  docu- 
ments submitted  to  him  to  begin  "  God  and  Your 
Majesty."  His  laboriousness,  his  unconquerable 
patience,  and  his  great  mental  calmness,  all  seem 
to  have  been  an  imitation  of  Providence,  of  whom 
he  considered  himself  the  junior  partner. 
II 


82  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

Indeed,  some  of  William  ii.'s  utterances  during 
the  War  might  easily  have  been  based  on  Philip  ii.'s 
speeches  to  his  troops  in  the  Netherlands. 

Early  in  1919,  when  the  exile's  character  and 
doings  were  being  widely  discussed,  I  asked  Count 
Godard  Bentinck  whether  it  was  really  the  fact 
that  the  ex-Kaiser  had  the  opinion  of  himself  that 
his  reported  constant  allusions  to  the  Deity  and 
himself  seemed  to  show.  I  said  I  could  not  believe 
this,  and  that  it  must  be  the  newspapers'  way  of 
making  him  ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of  the  world. 
But  I  was  told,  "  No  ;  he  has  always  been  brought 
up  like  that,  you  see,  and  it  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at  that  he  has  these  feelings  very  deeply  planted 
in  him." 

The  following  letter,  written  to  Bethmann- 
Hollweg  on  31st  October  1916,  and  purporting  to 
be  from  the  Emperor,  gives  an  idea  of  his  mind : 

"My  dear  Bethmann, — I  have  long" been 
turning  our  conversation  over  in  my  mind.  It  is 
clear  that  the  peoples  of  the  enemy  countries, 
kept  in  a  morbid  war  atmosphere  and  labouring 
under  lies  and  frauds,  deluded  also  by  fighting 
and  hatred,  possess  no  men  who  are  able,  or  who 
have  the  moral  courage  to  speak  the  word  which 
will  bring  relief — to  propose  peace. 

;  *'  Wliat  is  wanted  is  a  moral  deed,  to  free  the 
world,  including  neutrals,  from  the  pressure  which 
weighs  upon  all.  For  such  a  deed  it  is  necessary 
to  find  a  ruler  who  has  a  conscience,  who  feels 
that  he  is  responsible  to  God,  who  has  a  heart 
for  his  own  people  and  for  those  of  his  enemies, 
who,  indifferent  as  to  any  possible  wilful  inter- 
pretation of  his  actions,  possesses  the  will  to  free 
the  world  from  its  sufferings. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  83 

"  I  have  the  courage.  Trusting  in  God  I  shall 
dare  to  take  this  step.  Please  draft  notes  on  these 
lines,  and  submit  them  to  me  and  make  all  the 
necessary  arrangements  without  delay. 

"  (Signed)         William  I.R." 

This  letter,  although  wi'itten  in  October,  was 
not  published  in  Germany  till  14th  January  1917, 
because  the  German  Socialists  were  at  that  time 
claiming  to  have  been  the  prime  movers  in  pro- 
ducing the  Peace  Note. 

At  Amerongen  all  talk  sooner  or  later  turned 
to  the  War.  And  the  ex-Kaiser  steadily  maintains 
that  he  did  all  he  could  to  prevent  it.  "  God 
knows  I  am  innocent  of  what  my  enemies  charge 
me  with,  and  that  to  me  is  the  only  thing  that 
matters,"  he  says.  "  My  conscience  is  clear  before 
God,  and  what  other  people  think  can't  be  helped." 

It  is  true  that  there  was  much  that  was  con- 
tradictory in  the  arguments  I  heard  repeated, 
some  of  them  on  the  familiar  lines  that  the  mere 
march  of  events  would  inevitably  have  brought 
the  rivahy  of  Britain  and  Germany  to  a  head  in 
an  armed  clash  later,  if  not  in  1914. 

Often  he  spoke  of  what  an  impossible  position 
his  was  just  before  the  War  broke  out  and  again 
just  before  the  Armistice. 

"  I  never  knew  whom  to  believe,"  he  said. 
"People  would  tell  me  so-and-so  was  the  case, 
and  yet  I  could  never  be  sure  that  I  was  being 
told  the  truth." 

No  wonder  he  contrasts  with  some  envy  the 
strong  foundations  and  established  functions  of 
limited  monarchy  with  the  deceptive  illusions  and 
uncertainties  of  autocracy  t 


84  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

An  experience  of  my  own,  however,  throws 
some  Hght  on  the  ex-Kaiser's  claim.  I  was  on 
my  way  back  from  Bayreuth  to  England  on 
1st  August  1914.  As  our  long,  overladen  train 
dragged  itself  slowly  through  the  peaceful  country, 
where  the  ripe  corn  was  lazily  waving  in  the  late 
afternoon  sunshine,  I  stood  for  a  long  time  at 
the  window  of  the  corridor,  long  enough  to  see 
the  light  go.  Then  from  the  shadows  outside  I 
heard  low,  muffled  words.  They  seemed  to  me  to 
be  thrown  at  the  slow- moving  train  in  a  curious 
Sphinx-like,  fatalistic  way.  "  Mobil  ist's  .  .  . 
Mobil  ist's  .  .  .  Mobil  ist's.  .  .  ."  Then  I  saw  it 
was  from  the  Landsturm  posted  at  intervals  along 
the  line  that  the  catastrophic  words  came.  The 
British  mind  at  once  jumped  to  the  conclusion, 
"  So  this  is  then  '  Der  Tag.''  "  (At  Amerongen,  by 
the  way,  they  would  have  none  of  "  Der  Tag  "  idea. 
They  said  it  was  a  tiny  and  very  unimportant 
matter  which  the  English  Press  had  magnified.) 

For  the  remainder  of  that  journey  through 
Germany  I  talked  with  many  Germans.  They 
left  me  under  the  impression  that  they  looked  upon 
the  Emperor  as  being  against  war.  I  remember 
distinctly  one  constantly  repeated  saying,  "The 
Kaiser  is  the  Peace-Kaiser.  He  doesn't  want  war. 
But  the  Crown  Prince  wants  war."  And  I  re- 
member, too,  that  in  the  German  newspapers 
which  we  read  feverishly  that  day  it  was  pointed 
out  that  in  Berlin  the  Kaiser  was  coolly  received, 
but  that  the  Crown  Prince,  on  the  other  hand, 
was  vociferously  cheered  because  it  was  believed 
he  sympathised  with  the  war  party,  which  un- 
doubtedly existed  in  Germany. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  85 

People  in  England  have  often  been  puzzled  as 
to  why  Germany  went  to  war.  She  was  winning 
the  commerce  of  the  world  and  the  power  which 
that  carries — ^then  how  extraordinarily  stupid  of 
her  to  plunge  into  the  risks  of  war  !  I  pointed 
out  this  view  to  Captain  von  Ilsemann,  the  ex- 
Kaiser's  aide-de-camp,  with  the  added  comment 
that  the  British  certainly  did  not  seek  a  fight. 

"  But  would  Britain  have  sat  down  quietly 
for  another  ten  years  and  watched  us  absorb- 
ing the  commerce  of  the  world  ? "  he  replied. 
"  Surely  not,  as  it  would  mean  ruin  for  her.  It 
was  natural  she  should  wish  to  stop  our  develop- 
ment.    War  was  the  only  way  to  do  it.     So !  " 

"  I  congratulate  you,"  he  continued.  "  Britain 
has  achieved  most  fully  and  gloriously  what  she 
went  out  to  achieve.  She  has  put  Germany  back 
for  twenty  years.  ...  It  remains  for  her  to  keep 
what  she  has  wi-ested  from  us." 

I  saw  some  similarity  in  tliis  to  the  views  of 
a  German  general  at  a  dinner-party  in  Dresden  in 
November  1911,  and  I  related  my  conversation 
with  him  to  Captain  von  Ilsemann.  The  general, 
elderly,  fat,  and  with  long,  overhanging  eyebrows, 
was  sitting  next  to  me,  and  immediately  after 
we  had  finished  soup  he  turned  to  me  and  asked 
in  perfect  English,  "  And  do  you  believe  we  are 
going  to  war  with  England  ?  "  Feeling  that  it 
did  not  in  the  least  matter  what  I  thought,  I 
nevertheless  responded,  "Yes,  I  do  think  so." — 
"  Why  ?  Do  you  believe  this  fellow  Blatchford  ? 
Do  you  believe  the  Daily  Mail  ?  No  important 
people  in  England  believe  it,  do  they  ?  "  I 
answered  that  the  Daily  Mail,  I  thought,  had  a 


86  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

great  deal  of  power. — "  But  do  you  believe  we 
want  to  go  to  war  ?  "  he  insisted.  "  We  love  your 
beautiful  England." — "  Yes,"  I  answered,  "  you 
love  her  because  you  would  like  to  possess  her — 
that's  the  way  you  love  her  !  "  This  seemed  to 
amuse  him  very  much. 

"  But  why  should  we  want  war  ?  "  he  con- 
tinued. "  We  are  botli  very  happy  and  con- 
tented." To  this  I  answered  that  I  could 
understand  it,  for,  were  I  a  German,  I  might 
be  annoyed  at  seeing  England  take  first  place  in 
the  world.  I  should  want  my  own  country  to 
be  first.  I  shouldn't  like  to  be  only  No.  2  in 
the  world. 

There  was  a  slight  pause,  and  then,  bending 
towards  me  and  resting  his  hand  on  my  arm,  he 
said  slowly,  "  Ah,  there  speaks  a  proud  English- 
woman" ("eine  stolze  kleine  Englanderin"  were 
the  words  he  used).  "  And  you  are  quite  right, 
my  dear  !  We  do  want  to  go  to  war,  but  not 
until  England  is  weak  enough  and  Germany  is 
strong  enough.  But  to  go  to  war  with  England 
we  must   have  more  seaboard.     So  Belgium  and 

Holland — wht "    and    he    made    a    significant 

gesture  with  his  hands.  Then,  shaking  his  fore- 
finger at  me,  he  said,  "  England  is  now  at  three 
o'clock,  when  the  sun  shines  the  brightest." 

I  was  astonished  to  hear  this  phrase  again,  as, 
curiously  enough,  precisely  the  same  words  had 
been  said  to  me  one  year  before  at  a  ball  in  Vienna 
given  by  the  German  Ambassador  Herr  von 
Tschirschky. 

Captain  von  Ilsemann's  comment  on  the  story 
was   that   there   this   view   did    obtain   in   certain 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  87 

military  circles,  and  there  was  always  a  more  or 
less  aggressive  party  in  all  countries. 

There  was  never  any  hesitation  at  Amerongen 
in  fixing  the  blame  for  the  actual  outbreak  of  war 
in  1914  on  Russia.  Indeed,  it  was  an  article  of 
faith  in  the  entourage  that  St.  Petersbui'g  had  set 
the  great  machine  in  motion. 

The  Russian  side  of  the  beginning  of  hostilities 
is  difficult  to  fathom.  We  read  :  "  On  the  30th 
July  the  French  Ambassador,  M.  Cambon,^  told 
Sir  Edward  Grey  ^  that  he  felt  Germany  would 
most  likely  call  upon  France  to  cease  preparation 
or  to  engage  to  remain  neutral  in  case  of  a  conflict 
between  Germany  and  Russia."  ^ 

Bismarck,  it  will  be  remembered,  once  remarked 
that  a  breach  with  Russia  could  very  easily  be 
cauterised,  so  perhaps  Germany  didn't  fear  her 
very  much  as  a  foe. 

"  It  was  a  war  made  by  bureaucrats,"  was  a 
phrase  I  heard  more  than  once.  Sukhomlinoff, 
the  Russian  Minister  of  War,  was  the  villain  of  the 
piece.  I  was  told  of  the  exile's  view  of  "  Sukhom- 
linoff's  treachery  "  :  "  How  he  had  forced  the 
Czar  in  a  really  terrible  interview  to  sign  against 
his  will  the  order  for  general  mobilisation  ;  how 
the  Czar  later  regretted  his  action,  sent  for  the 
Minister,  and  instructed  him  to  cancel  the  order  ; 
how    the    Minister    replied    that    the    order    was 

1  French  Ambassador  to  the  Court  of  St.  James  in  1914. 

2  English  Foreign  Minister  in  1914.  (His  great-grandaunt 
Elizabeth  Grey,  daughter  of  Sir  George  Grey,  first  Baronet,  married 
my  great-grandfather,  Charles  Noel,  first  Earl  of  Gainsborough, 
second  creation.  She  died  at  eighteen,  and  her  only  child  was  my 
grandfather. 

3  H.  C.  O'Neil,  History  of  the  War. 


88  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

already  being  carried  out,  and  could  not  be 
countermanded  without  hopeless  confusion  ;  and 
how,  in  saying  so,  he  was  lying,  the  unissued 
order  being  in  his  pocket  at  that  moment." 

The  Czar,  it  is  understood,  signed  the  order 
on  the  afternoon  of  Wednesday,  29th  July.  As 
to  when  it  was  issued  there  is  a  conflict  of  evidence, 
regarding  which  an  experience  of  my  own  has,  I 
think,  an  important  bearing.  Bethmann  Hollweg, 
in  his  book  published  last  year,i  said  :  "  Then  on 
the  morning  of  81st  July,  General  Sukhomlinoff 
finally  convinced  the  Czar  himself  of  the  necessity 
of  mobiHsation."  With  this,  Mr.  H.  C.  O'Neil,  in 
his  History  of  the  War,  agrees  :  "It  was  at  this 
point,  31st  July,  that  Russia  decided  to  announce 
general  mobilisation." 

My  point  is  that  the  news  of  the  Russian 
mobilisation  was  known  in  Germany  on  Thursday, 
30th  July,  and  the  presumption  therefore  is  that 
Sukhomlinoff  issued  the  order  when  it  was  signed 
— i.e.  on  29th  July. 

From  20th  July  to  1st  August  1914  I  was  at 
Bayreuth,  in  Bavaria,  for  the  Wagner  Festival. 
On  30th  Jidy  I  motored  with  friends  to  Rothen- 
burg,    a   show   mediaeval  town   in  Germany,  and 

that  night  dined  with  Count  Z ,  wlio  had  two 

sons  in  smart  German  regiments.  I  shall  always 
remember  his  fury  against  the  Russians.  I  can 
see  him  now  strutting  up  and  down  the  room  like 
a  bantam  cock — ^he  was  a  small  man,  and  had 
covered  himself  for  that  occasion  with  medals 
which  he  had  gained  at  the  Battle  of  Sadowa  ! 

"  Es  ist  unverschamt  (it  is  positively  shameless) 
*  1920. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  89 

of  the  Russians  to  mobilise  against  us,"  he  said 

angrily.     "  How  dare  they  send (mentioning 

the  number)  army  corps  to  fight  us  ?  They  must 
be  mad  !  What  are  they  doing  it  for  ?  "  His 
intense  fury  with  the  Russians  was  quite  un- 
intelligible to  me  at  that  time,  and,  moreover,  I 
was  far  too  much  taken  up  with  the  music  I  had 
been  hearing  in  the  last  few  days  and  the  unique 
charm  of  Rothenburg  to  be  interested  in  politics. 

But  he,  at  any  rate,  knew  on  30th  July  of  the 
Russian  mobilisation.  And  the  scene  came  back 
vividly  to  me  when,  in  Holland  in  1919,  I  heard  the 
talk  about  Sukhomlinoff  and  how  he  "  tricked  " 
the  Czar  about  the  issue  of  the  order. 

As  I  have  mentioned  Bayreuth  I  might  tell 
of  how  we  ourselves  noticed  mobilisation  in 
progress  under  our  very  eyes  in  the  opera-house 
there. 

During  the  performance  of  Gdtterddmmerung, 
which  we  witnessed  on  Wednesday.  29th,  the  places 
occupied  by  Austrian  officers  during  one  act 
were  empty  in  the  next,  and  the  orchestra  and 
chorus  were  being  gradually  depleted  as,  of  course, 
these  were  composed  of  nationalities  other  than 
German. 

We  were  immensely  struck  by  the  contrast  on 
Friday,  31st  July,  when  we  were  present  at  the 
performance  of  The  Flying  Dutchman.  The  town 
was  in  gala,  gaily  bedecked  with  flags  and  garlands 
of  leaves  in  honour  of  the  Crown  Prince  of  Bavaria 
(so  much  in  the  public  eye  later),  who  was  attend- 
ing the  Festival ;  but  as  we  drove  out  of  the  town 
away  through  the  pinewoods  to  our  hotel,  the 
scene  changed  :    the  insouciance  of  normal  times 

12 


90  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

suddenly  slipped  away  and  we  were  confronted 
with  a  "  state  of  war,"  for  marching  towards  us 
in  the  sweet-smelling  still  summer  night  were 
troops,  and  then  we  realised  that  the  phantom 
we  had  all  talked  of — perhaps  a  little  lightly — for 
years  past  had  indeed  become  a  terrible  reality. 
All  the  maids  in  our  hotel  were  weeping,  and  one 
of  them  threw  her  arms  round  my  neck,  sobbing 
and  saying,  "  Ach  warum  hat  der  Kaiser  krieg 
gemacht  ?  Wir  war  en  alle  so  gliicklich.  Warum 
hat  er  es  gethan."  ("  Oh,  why  did  the  Emperor 
make  war  ?  We  were  all  so  happy.  Why  did 
he  do  it  ?  ")  Always  in  Germany  I  was  struck  by 
the  way  the  people  (I  mean  the  Volk  [peasant]) 
spoke  so  personally  of  the  Emperor.  It  seemed 
he  was  much  more  spoken  of  as  having  power 
in  public  things  which  affected  them  than  is  our 
King  here. 

In  England  it  is  generally  the  Government  which 
is  inveighed  against,  or,  more  vaguely  still,  "  they." 

This  reminds  me  of  the  story  of  the  youthful 
maid  of  honour  who  is  reported  as  having  said 
in  the  hearing  of  Queen  Victoria  :  "  Oh,  I  believe 
they've  made  five  new  Peers." 

The  Queen's  answer  came  swiftly  and  very 
quietly  :  "  They,  my  dear  ?  " 

At  first  the  Kaiser  was  very  anxious  to  know 
what  English  people  thought  and  said  of  him,  and 
particularly  what  former  English  friends  believed 
about  him.  He  spoke  to  Count  Godard  with 
much  affection  of  these  old  friends,  and,  indeed, 
appeared  to  look  back  to  old  days  in  England  with 
a  sort  of  wistfulness.  Often  he  spoke  of  how 
much  he  had  enjoyed  his  visits  there. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  91 

One  was  forced  to  remember,  on  learning  of 
his  still  repeatedly  expressed  liking  for  English 
ways,  that  he  was  the  son  of  an  English  Princess, 
who  had — like  all  English  Princesses — clung  with 
patriotic  love  to  all  that  was  English.  Wliat  he 
admired  particularly,  although  I  don't  believe  he 
likes  unconventionality  in  his  own  surroundings, 
was  the  social  freedom  and  unconventionality, 
judged  by  continental  standards,  of  English  people- 
He  envied  their  individualistic  spirit  generally. 
Germans  had  been  winning  considerable  distinction 
in  athletics  in  late  pre-war  years,  but  it  was 
chiefly  in  trained  and  regimental  fashion — as,  for 
example,  you  would  get  a  score  of  Germans  to 
dive  to  an  instant  as  one  man — ^to  which  their 
whole  existence  in  subjugation  to  one  leader  or 
another  rendered  them  apt.  It  will  be  recalled 
that  he  tried  to  vary  this  "  at  the  word  of  com- 
mand "  spirit  by  efforts  to  introduce  games  in 
which  individual  initiative  has  some  scope,  as, 
for  instance,  in  golf.  These  efforts  were  not 
successful ;  but  they  may  perhaps  be  taken  as 
indication  of  the  suppressed  English  side  of  his 
nature  trying  to  assert  itself. 

It  seems  that  he  always  liked  talking  to  English 
people  when  he  had  the  chance.  I  recall  a  certain 
occasion  (not  so  very  long  before  the  War)  when 
at  a  party  which  consisted  chiefly  of  German  and 
Dutch  people  he  chose  quite  markedly  to  converse 
with  an  Englishwoman,  saying,  "  Well,  and  what 
about  England  ?  "  adding,  with  a  humorous  look, 
"  Still  got  that  d d  Liberal  Government  ?  " 


CHAPTER  VI 

"  But,  oh,  the  truth,  the  truth,  the  many  eyes  that  look  on  it, 
the  diverse  things  they  see." — George  Meredith. 

And  so  the  days  passed  until  June  1920,  when 
the  ex-Kaiser  at  last  left  the  kindly  roof  of  Amer- 
ongen,  which  in  his  woe  and  confusion  had  given 
him  "  sanctuary,"  and  betook  himself  to  his  new 
abode,  Doom. 

Before  he  acquired  this  property  the  ex- 
Kaiser  had  had  a  long  search  for  a  home.  It 
began  soon  after  he  came  to  Amerongen.  There 
are  very  few  big  houses,  as  English  people  under- 
stand them,  in  Holland  ;  so  that  the  search  under- 
taken by  his  friends  was  difficult.  Belmonte, 
belonging  to  Baroness  Justine  Constant  and  her 
sister,  Countess  Piickler,  a  house  about  as  far  from 
Amerongen  on  the  one  side  as  Doom  is  on  the 
other,  was  at  one  time  considered,  but  the  project 
fell  through.  Then  one  of  the  most  beautifully 
wooded  properties  in  the  country  (from  the 
windows  of  the  house  one  can  see  into  Germany) 
came  into  the  market,  but  owing  to  some  delay  on 
the  financial  side  of  the  transaction  the  place  fell 
into  other  hands. 

The  traveller  who  motors  along  the  straight, 
stone-paved  high  road  from  Utrecht  to  Arnhem 
can,  near  the  village  of  Doom,  get  a  passing 
glimpse   of   a   white,   unpretentious   house   in  the 

92 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  93 

middle  of  a  wood.     It  is  there  that  the  former 
head  of  the  German  Empire  now  Hves. 

If  he  stops  at  the  village  "  restaurant  "  for 
luncheon  the  traveller  is  perhaps  told  nonchalantly 
by  a  waiter  that  "  the  Emperor  "  lives  there,  but 
unless  he  inquires  he  will  hear  no  more  ;  for  the 
people  of  the  village  have  become  used  to  the 
exile's  proximity,  and  regard  it  with  character- 
istic Dutch  phlegm,  not  to  say  indifference. 

If  he  be  curious  to  find  more,  he  can  go  along 
the  avenue,  about  half  a  mile  in  length,  from  the 
high  road  to  the  entrance,  and,  standing  at  the  iron 
gates — and  there  is  no  rule  forbidding  people  to 
go  so  far — he  can  look  into  the  grounds  and  view 
portions  of  the  house  not  screened  by  trees. 
Very  often  the  ex-Kaiser  can  be  seen  in  his  shirt- 
sleeves at  his  favourite  occupation  of  cutting  up 
trees  near  the  road  leading  to  the  house. 

This  sequestered  residence  (it  is  about  four 
miles  from  the  nearest  railway  station,  Drie- 
bergen)  looks  more  like  the  retreat  of  a  successful 
merchant  than  the  country  house  we  are  accus- 
tomed to  in  England.  It  has  no  architectural 
beauties,  and  the  grounds  in  which  it  is  set  are 
very  small ;  a  newly  grown  wood  and  a  few  fields 
form  the  confines.  There  is  no  moat  such  as 
surrounds  most  country  houses  in  canal-intersected 
Holland,  and  the  gates  and  lodge  are  insignificant 
in  appearance. 

Since  he  bought  it  the  ex-Kaiser  has  spent  a 
great  deal  of  money  in  improving  the  property. 
Many  rooms  have  been  added  to  the  fabric,  and 
bath,  electric  light,  central  heating,  and  scientific 
cooking  arrangements  have  been  installed  by  or 


94  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

under  the  superintendence  of  German  workmen. 
A  large  entrance  hall  has  been  built,  and  in  it  has 
been  placed  a  magnificent  marble  staircase  brought 
from  the  Royal  castle  in  Berlin. 

Cottages  were  built  for  the  servants,  to  house 
their  wives  and  children ;  and  near  Doom — a 
prosperous-looking  village  of  from  1500  to  2000 
inhabitants,  whose  houses  stand  in  their  own 
well-kept  little  plots  of  ground,  and  are  solidly 
built  and  painted  in  gay  colours — a  house  has 
been  rented  for  his  gentlemen  attendants,  who  only 
go  to  him  for  the  day,  and  do  not  sleep  under  his 
roof.  This  is  a  pleasant  little  villa,  situated  away 
from  the  highway  down  a  little  wooded  road — a 
quiet  spot  where  it  is  possible  for  them  to  enjoy  a 
certain  amount  of  privacy.  Among  the  occupants 
is  the  doctor,  a  German,  who  is  constant  in  his 
attendance  on  the  exiled  couple. 

The  ex-Kaiser's  house  and  grounds  are  watched 
by  Dutch  soldiers.  This  is  not  because  he  is 
considered  a  prisoner,  but  merely  because  the 
authorities  have  undertaken  to  see  that  he  is  not 
unduly  molested.  The  guard  is  strict.  No  one 
may  present  himself  without  a  special  written 
permission  on  which  the  name  and  many  par- 
ticulars about  the  visitor  are  inscribed.  A  well- 
known  Englishwoman  who  endeavoured  to  gain 
an  entrance  was  stopped  not  so  long  ago.^  Many 
trippers  in  the  summer  months  try  to  get  a  glimpse 
of  the  ex-Kaiser  in  the  grounds,  and  hang  about 
the  roads  when  it  is  rumoured  that  he  is  outside. 

During  all  the  spring  of  1920  the  roads  between 
the   German   frontier   and    Doom   groaned   under 

^  Summer  1920. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  95 

the  weight  of  enormous  wagons  laden  with  precious 
and  beautiful  things  belonging  to  the  Royal  pair, 
and  until  then — wonderful  to  state — carefully- 
guarded  in  their  palaces  for  them. 

Pictures  and  statuary,  tapestries,  gold  and 
silver  plate,  mirrors,  porcelain  and  glass,  were  now 
to  fill  the  hitherto  unknown  and  unsung  house  in 
the  wood. 

Some  of  their  belongings  in  the  way  of  clothing 
were  missing  after  the  Revolution.  Certainly  the 
ex-Kaiser's  plight  at  first  was  in  some  degrees 
comparable  to  that  of  the  late  ex-Empress  of  the 
French  when  she  fled  to  England  by  means  of 
the  late  Sir  John  Burgoyne's  yacht.  It  is  said 
that  she  possessed  nothing  but  what  she  wore  and 
a  little  handbag.  The  ex-Kaiser  had  more,  for  he 
arrived  in  a  special  train  ;  but  his  wardrobe,  with 
the  exception  of  what  he  brought  with  him,  was 
completely  looted  during  the  Revolution,  so  that 
nothing  was  available  to  forward  on  to  him  in 
Holland.  Even  his  pocket-handkerchiefs  had 
been  taken. 

Notwithstanding  all  these  losses  he  is,  however, 
still  an  exceedingly  rich  man.  His  wealth  a  few 
months  before  the  War  was  estimated  by  the 
compiler  of  the  Almanack  of  German  Millionaires 
to  be  £19,700,000.  This  included  the  value  of 
land  and  forest  properties  which  were  forfeited 
to  the  State  during  the  Involution,  when  a  large 
portion  of  his  personal  belongings  shared  a  like 
fate.  Nevertheless,  he  still  possesses  a  great  for- 
tune, and  there  is  a  very  considerable  margin  left 
over  from  his  income,  I  imagine,  after  the  wheels 
of  his  present  household  are  comfortably  oiled. 


96  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

It  is  noticeable  that  the  money  fortunes  of 
modern  fallen  monarchs  do  not  seem  to  share  very 
fully  the  fate  of  the  political  fortunes.  Even  the 
ex-Empress  Eugenie  left  at  her  death  the  other  day  ^ 
a  fortune  estimated  at  about  £200,000. 

Days  and  nights  at  Doom  are  singularly  lacking 
in  glamour  ;  that  is  when  there  are  no  visitors. 
The  exile's  routine  is  much  as  it  was  at  Amerongen 
— early  rising,  walking,  wood-cutting,  and  motoring. 

He  does  not  like  to  be  long  parted  from  his 
aide-de-camp,  Captain  von  Ilsemann,  upon  whose 
buoyant  personality  he  has  grown  more  and 
more  to  rely  ;  so  when  the  latter  became  engaged 
to  Count  Godard  Bentinck's  daughter,  Countess 
Elizabeth,  an  arrangement  was  made  by  which  he 
slept  one  night  at  Amerongen  and  the  next  at  his 
own  quarters  at  Doom ;  which  meant  that  he 
stayed  with  the  ex-Kaiser  all  the  evening  and  went 
to  him  early  in  the  morning.  On  the  mornings 
on  which  he  breakfasted  at  Amerongen  he  set  off 
on  his  bicycle  in  time  to  arrive  at  Doom  soon  after 
nine. 

The  first  occupation  after  breakfast  is  to  read 
eight  German  daily  newspapers,  for  the  exile 
naturally  takes  a  deep  interest  in  the  doings  of  the 
country  from  which  he  has  been  cut  off.  Some  he 
reads  himself,  others  are  read  aloud  to  him  by  the 
faithful  Ilsemann — who,  when  the  official,  intimate 
life  of  the  ex-Kaiser  is  written,  will  surely  go  down 
to  posterity  as  another  Bourrienne  or  Boswell 
(minus  the  volumes). 

Of  the  papers  the  Conservative  Kreutz- 
Zeitung  is  a  favourite.     In  the  old  days  Professor 

^  Winter  1920. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  07 

Schiemann  (lately  deceased)  was  responsible  for 
the  spirit  in  which  foreign  affairs  were  treated  in 
its  columns,  and  the  Kaiser,  who  put  great  trust 
in  his  judgment,  always  kept  in  touch  with  this 
paper. 

The  others  range  in  political  outlook  from 
Junker  to  Socialist.  He  makes  an  effort  to  swallow 
the  unpalatable  doses  the  latter  offer  ;  but  there 
are  certain  periodicals  which  he  "  cannot  abide." 
One  of  these  is  Zukunft,  run  by  the  brilliant 
matador  journalist,  Harden,  a  vitriolic  wi'iter 
supposed  not  to  entertain  much  feeling  of  affec- 
tion for  the  Hohenzollerns.  ^Vhen  I  mentioned 
Zukunft  I  was  greeted  with  such  epithets  as  "  Ei  !  " 
"  Pfui  1  "  "  Nein  1  "  in  undisguised  tones  of  dis- 
gust. It  will  be  remembered  that  Harden  was 
one  of  Prince  Bismarck's  closest  friends  after  that 
statesman's  fall,  and  probably  knows  more  of  the 
veteran's  private  views,  and  thus  of  the  inner 
history  of  the  late  Empire,  than  any  one  in  Germany 
to-day — a  circumstance  which  might  be  discom- 
forting to  the  exile. 

Masses  of  letters  have,  of  course,  to  be  tackled. 
Those  in  which  the  writers  expressed  their  detesta- 
tion of  him  in  unrestrained  terms  and  called  down 
vengeance  on  his  head  are  now  infrequent  ;  not 
that  the  writers  necessarily  have  changed  their 
opinions,  but  probably  because  they  have  had 
their  say.  These  letters,  very  numerous  at  first, 
used  greatly  to  agitate  the  exile.  "  How  can  they 
believe  it  ?  "  he  would  exclaim,  when  he  was 
strongly  upbraided  for  having  permitted  atrocities. 
I  think  that  the  restless  "  walking  up  and  pacing 
down  "  in  the  picture  gallery  at  Amerongen  during 
»3 


98  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

the  direful  winter  1918-19  must  have  been  partly 
undertaken  to  soothe  his  tormented  mind.  But 
I  propose  to  deal  more  fully  later  with  his  attitude 
on  this  subject. 

Now  among  the  famity  and  business  letters 
come  some  signed  each  with  hundreds  of  names, 
and  setting  forth  the  loyalty  of  ardent  monarchists 
in  Germany. 

A  particular  and  most  faithful  adherent  is  the 
old  Field-Marshal  Hindenburg.  An  idiosyncrasy 
of  the  veteran  is  to  use  large-sized  foolscap  sheets 
as  notepaper.  I  have  never  seen  such  hand- 
writing !  His  nibs  must  be  at  least  an  inch  thick, 
and  each  letter  is  about  two  inches  in  height ! 
Oceans  of  ink  must  be  used.  Being  interested  in 
the  meanings  of  caligraphy,  I  particularly  noticed 
that  as  the  writing  sprawled  gigantically  over  the 
paper,  the  lines  most  markedly  slanted  upward. 
Apparently  hope  springs  eternal  in  Hindenburg's 
fiery  and  monarchical  breast  ! 

The  day  of  the  year  on  which,  naturally,  the 
mass  of  letters  is  overwhelming,  is  that  of  his 
birthday  anniversary  (27th  January),  of  which  he 
has  just  celebrated  the  62nd,  as  I  write. ^  Then 
the  ardent  souls  of  the  Fatherland  pour  out 
their  torrent  of  good  wishes.  I  notice  that  on 
this  anniversary  he  received  336  letters  and 
telegrams  from  Germany,  and  was  presented  with 
sixty-four  baskets  of  flowers,  the  donors  of  which 
included  the  ex-Kings  of  Bavaria,  Saxony,  and 
Wiirtemberg.  A  notable  fact  in  this  connection 
is  that  a  man  with  whom  the  Kaiser  was  on  terms 
of    personal   friendship,    and    in    whose    home    he 

*  February  1921. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  99 

often  stayed  in  "  le  temps  passe,"  has  not  written 
to  him  on  any  anniversary  since  the  debacle  of 
1918.     The  exile  shows  that  this  silence  hurts  him. 

This  is  the  third  of  his  birthday  anniversaries 
which  he  has  spent  as  an  exile,  but  the  first  since 
abdication  in  which  he  has  been  the  host,  and  so 
able  to  choose  his  guests  with  greater  freedom 
than  he  could  when  himself  the  guest  of  another. 
It  was  the  fashion  in  the  old  days  to  celebrate  it 
with  great  pomp,  and  I  see  there  was  a  faint  sug- 
gestion of  old  times  in  his  donning  uniform  on  this 
occasion.  Birthday  celebrations  are  features  of 
the  social  life  of  the  circles  in  which  he  now  moves, 
and  the  ex-Kaiser  is  a  zestful  participant  in  the 
dinner-parties  at  Doom,  Amerongen,  and  Zuy- 
lestein,  which  mark  these  occasions.  A  table  is  put 
aside  for  the  display  of  gifts,  and  baskets  of  flowers 
usually  make  a  great  heap  of  colour  on  the  floor. 
One  of  the  Bentinck  birthdays  took  place  during 
my  visit,  and  though  I  was  not  present  when  the 
ex-Kaiser  came,  I  saw  the  presents  he  brought 
— a  large  single  aquamarine  set  in  platinum  and 
a  basket  of  azaleas  tied  with  an  enormous  yellow 
satin  bow. 

The  newspapers  and  letters  leave  little  time 
for  book-reading.  He  is  much  interested  in  Ger- 
man books  on  the  War  and  dealing  with  the  science 
of  the  various  branches  of  armies.  (I  remember  a 
German  artillery  officer,  whom  I  met  at  the  wedding 
at  Amerongen,  telling  me  that  the  ex-Kaiser  ap- 
parently knew  as  much  of  the  latest  developments 
of  artillery  as  a  specialist  in  that  arm.)  But  there 
is  one  kind  of  book  into  which  he  plunges  with 
absorption  :   that  dealing  with  Freemasonry.     His 


100  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

brother,  Prince  Henry  of  Prussia,  sends  him  every- 
thing that  appears  on  the  subject,  and  there  is 
frequently  a  newly  arrived  pile  to  attack  of  a 
morning.  When  I  stayed  at  Zuylcstein  in  March 
1919  (while  the  ex-Kaiser  was  still  at  Amerongen), 
his  ex-Majesty  sent  me  some  new  German  books 
and  pamphlets  dealing  with  this  subject.  He  is 
convinced  of  its  sinister  power  in  world  politics, 
and  he  attributes  as  much  evil-doing  to  its 
secret  machinations  as  did  our  eighteenth-century 
ancestors  to  the  doings  of  the  "  Illuminati." 

In  1794,  when  all  Europe  was  aflame,  the 
calamities  of  those  days  were  also  imputed  to 
the  inner  workings  of  secret  societies.  From  the 
correspondence  of  the  day  we  gather  that  the  most 
dangerous  of  these  was  one  called  "  Les  Illumines," 
a  society  which  claimed  to  receive  direct  from 
God,  independently  of  the  Church,  a  special  light 
or  revelation. 

Various  bodies  from  earliest  times  have  be- 
lieved themselves  to  be,  in  a  transport  of  fervour, 
the  recipients  of  special  manifestations ;  but  the 
"  Illumines "  of  the  eighteenth  century  were 
opposed  to  all  religion  and  believed  only  in  the 
light  of  reason.  Later,  some  of  them  amalgamated 
with  the  Freemasons  I  will  now  quote,  if  I  may, 
once  more  from  the  Memoirs  of  Countess  Bentinck.^ 

On  30th  September  1794  she  writes  : 

"  These  hot-headed  people  (the  '  Illumines  '), 
attracted  by  the  riches  of  the  Jesuits  while  all  the 
time  pretending  to  be  good  Freemasons,  managed 

*  Charlotte  Sophie,    Countess   Bentinck  :    Her  Life   and   Times, 
17 1 5-1800,  by  Mrs.  Aubrey  le  Blond. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  101 

to  get  hold  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  whose  con- 
temptible character  was  just  what  they  wanted 
coupled  with  his  rank  of  Prince  of  the  Blood, 
and  made  him  a  Freemason,  together  with  certain 
other  nobles  of  the  same  sort.  Through  them 
were  brought  about  all  the  horrors  we  have 
witnessed  and  the  French  Revolution.  But  even 
this  was  not  enough  to  satisfy  them,  for  they 
aimed  at  overturning  not  only  France  but  the 
whole  of  Europe  1  .  .  .  Then  they  had  to  rouse 
to  enthusiasm  the  colder  blood  of  the  Northern 
nations  for  the  idea  of  equality  and  liberty ;  em- 
bitter them,  tickle  their  desire  for  novelty  ;  make 
them  discontented. 

"They  saw  that  most  nations  only  occupied 
themselves  with  matters  of  domestic  and  pecuniary 
interest,  and  seldom  read  or  noticed  what  went  on 
elsewhere.     These  had  to  be  enlightened.  .  .  ." 

And  so  it  goes  on,  and  we  could  believe  we  were 
reading  a  letter  of  1921  instead  of  one  written  in 
1794! 

Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  we  read  what  Lord 
Moira  (Francis  Rawdon  Hastings,  first  Marquis  of 
Hastings  and  second  Earl  of  Moira,  1754-1826)  said 
on  the  same  subject  at  the  same  time. 

The  following  words  of  his  were  written  in 
1800; 

"  Certain  modern  publications  have  been  hold- 
ing forth  to  the  world  the  society  of  Masons  as 
a  league  against  constitutional  authorities — an  im- 
putation the  more  secure  because  the  known 
constitutions  of  our  fellowship  make  it  certain 
that  no  answer  can  be  published.  It  is  not  to  be 
disputed  that  in  countries  where  impolitic  pro- 
hibitions restrict  the  communication  of  sentiment. 


102  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

the  activity  of  the  human  mind  may,  among 
other  means  of  baffling  the  control,  have  resorted 
to  the  artifice  of  borrowing  the  denomination  of 
Freemasons,  to  cover  meetings  for  seditious 
purposes,  just  as  any  other  description  might  be 
assumed  for  the  same  object.  But,  in  the  first 
place,  it  is  the  invaluable  distinction  of  this  free 
country  that  such  a  just  intercourse  of  opinions 
exists  without  restraint  as  cannot  leave  to  any 
number  of  men  the  desire  of  forming  or  frequent- 
ing those  disguised  societies  where  dangerous  dis- 
positions may  be  imbibed.  And,  secondly,  the 
profligate  doctrines  which  may  have  been  nurtured 
in  any  such  self-established  assemblies  could  never 
have  been  tolerated  for  a  moment  in  any  lodge 
meeting  under  regular  authority.  We  aver,  there- 
fore, that  not  only  such  laxity  of  opinion  has  no 
sort  of  connection  with  the  tenets  of  Masomy, 
but  is  diametrically  opposite  to  the  injunction 
which  we  regard  as  the  foundation-stone  of  the 
lodge,  namely,  Fear  God  and  honour  the  Eang." 

I  was  interested  in  the  view  on  the  subject 
of  this  well-known  English  soldier  for  a  personal 
reason  also ;  as  a  very  fine  full-length  portrait 
of  him  in  uniform  hangs  in  the  hall  of  my  old 
home  at  Ext  on. 

So  here  we  have  two  exactly  opposed  views 
written  almost  simultaneously  by  two  well-known 
people  of  the  world.  One  must  bear  in  mind, 
however,  that  English  and  Continental  Freemasonry 
are  very  differently  constituted. 

"  Plus  9a  change,  plus  c'est  la  meme  chose." 
("  The  more  things  change,  the  more  they  remain 
the  same.") 

When  the  Emperor  went  to  Amerongen  one 
of  the  first  things  he  asked  Count   Godard  was 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  103 

whether  he  was  a  Freemason,  and  was  pleased  when 
the  answer  was  in  the  negative.  He  told  Count 
Godard  that  when  he  went  to  England  as  quite  a 
young  man,  Queen  Victoria  had  advised  him  not 
to  join  that  Society,  meaning,  of  course,  the  con- 
tinental variety — ^tlie  political  institution  which  is 
definitely  anti-clerical  and  anti-religious,  and  plays 
a  very  great  part  in  many  European  countries, 
particularly  Italy  and  France.  Unlike  the  Englisli 
kind,  it  has  determinately  banished  the  Deity  from 
its  teaching.  His  repeatedly  expressed  belief  is 
that  there  are  only  two  organisations,  apart  from 
Governments,  which  have  any  real  power  in  the 
world  to-day — those  of  Roman  Catholicism  and 
Freemasomy.  So  great  are  they  and  so  deeply 
do  they  work  into  the  minds  and  lives  of  their 
adherents  that  no  one  can  foretell  the  end  or  what 
they  will  achieve.  One  of  them  must,  he  thinks, 
fall  through  the  power  of  the  other. 

It  is  only  fair  to  say,  in  passing,  that  he  was 
broadminded  in  his  dealings  with  the  different 
religious  bodies  of  his  country.  Germany  was  a 
Protestant  Power,  but  it  will  be  remembered  that 
the  fact  that  he  was  a  Roman  Catholic  did  not 
prevent  Count  Hertling,  "der  alte  Fuchs"  ("the 
old  Fox"),  as  the  Bavarians  called  him,  from 
becoming  Imperial  Chancellor.  Of  course  there  is 
an  extremely  large,  rich,  and  powerful  Roman 
Catholic  section  in  Germany  which  includes  many 
royalties,  a  large  portion  of  the  aristocracy,  and 
an  enormous  number  of  the  middle  and  lower 
classes  and  peasants. 

It  will  also  be  remembered  that  Winthorst, 
the  great  leader  of  the  "  Centre,"  was  a  Catholic 


104  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

and  Bismarck's  most  formidable  opponent  in  his 
"  Cultur  Kampf "  against  clericalism. 

How  near  the  mark,  one  wonders,  was  Shelley 
in  liis  poetical  epitome  of  War  ! 

"  War  is  the  statesman's  game. 
The  priest's  deUght, 
The  lawyer's  jest." 

Fairly  though  different  religions  were  treated 
under  the  Empire,  the  famous  decree  "  Ne 
Temere "  regarding  marriage  laws  was  never 
promulgated  in  Germany,  and,  far  as  she  went 
in  many  cases  to  meet  Rome,  this  papal  decree 
apparently  was  the  limit  over  which  she  wouldn't 
step. 

Bismarck  had  once  said,  "Nach  Canossa 
gehen  wir  nicht "  ("To  Canossa  we  will  not 
go "),  referring  to  the  time  when  Pope  Gregory 
VII.  (Hildebrand)  literally  placed  his  foot  upon 
the  neck  of  the  then  "  Romische  Kaiser,"  Henry 
IV.,  which  episode  is  portrayed  in  mosaic  in  the 
porch  of  St.  Mark's  in  Venice.  For  three  days 
the  great  Emperor  was  made  to  walk  barefooted 
through  the  streets  of  Canossa.  By  this  phrase 
the  Iron  Chancellor  left  no  doubt  as  to  his  meaning  ! 
This  humiliating  episode  occurred  in  1077. 

Nearly  nine  hundred  years  later,  in  1903, 
William  ii.  paid  a  visit  to  Leo  xiii.,  no  longer  an 
autocrat  like  Gregory,  but  a  prisoner,  albeit  a 
powerful  one.  The  magnificence  of  this  visit 
contrasted  strikingly  with  the  quiet  unobtrusive- 
ness  of  King  Edward's  *  a  little  earlier. 

Berlin  was  now  to  be  on  the  most  friendly 
*  Edward  vii. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  105 

terms  with  the  Vatican.  Many  views  as  to  the 
ultimate  object  of  this  rapprochement  were  held  by 
different  cliques  and  sections  of  thought.  Some 
saw  in  it  a  slight  to  United  Italy,  others  a  bid 
for  the  Protectorate  of  the  Eastern  Christians  in 
anticipation  of  the  defection  of  France. 

Another  series  of  conjectures  ascribed  the 
eclat  given  to  the  visit  to  the  Pope  to  the  desire 
to  gain  the  support  of  the  German  Catholic  party 
in  domestic  politics.  But  Count  von  Biilow  had 
met  with  a  refusal  from  Cardinal  Rampolla  when 
he  proposed  that  the  Eastern  Christian  Pro- 
tectorate should  be  given  to  Germany,  and  this 
was  very  pleasing  to  the  Russians,  whose  paper, 
the  Novoe  Vremya,  descri})ed  it  as  "a  very  severe 
blow  to  German  influence  in  Syi'ia,  where  numerous 
communities  of  Catholic  Germans  are  already 
formed." 

However,  the  German  Government  missions 
in  China  have  been  gradually  transferred  from 
French  to  German  protection  since  the  action  in 
1899  of  Mgr  Amzer  in  requesting  and  obtaining 
permission  to  found  a  mission  which  should  not 
be  under  French  Protectorate.  An  arresting  point 
in  contemporary  history  is  the  increasing  defer- 
ence shown  to  the  Papacy  by  Protestant  Powers 
in  contrast  to  the  neglect  or  even  hostility  of 
nominally  Catholic  nations. 

The  key  to  this  friendly  attitude  may  perhaps 
be  found  in  the  mental  reservation  contained  in 
Bismarck's  historic  phrase. 

M.  Jean  Correre,  a  journalist  with  a  reputation 
for  being  in  touch  with  the  Vatican,  detected  in 
the  Emperor's  visit  an  attempt  to  influence  the 
14 


106  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

future  conclave  favourably  for  German  interests, 
and  it  was  said  that  the  Emperor  worked  on 
behalf  of  Cardinal  Gotti,  Prefect  of  Propaganda, 
as  a  candidate  for  the  Papacy,  hoping  thus  to 
secure  a  political  Pope  chiefly  solicitous  for  the 
diplomatic  power  of  the  Holy  See,  and  anxious  to 
substitute  for  the  lost  temporal  power  a  temporal 
influence  which  he  would  place  at  the  disposal  of 
Germany. 

As  the  Hapsburgs  had  been  known  to  place 
tlieir  nominee  in  Peter's  chair,  perhaps  the  fertile 
and  scheming  brain  of  William  ii.  imagined  that  a 
Hohenzollern  might  be  able  to  do  likewise.  That 
there  was  German  influence  present  in  the  Vatican 
in  the  person  of  Mgr  Gerlach  is  certain,  and  on 
very  high  authority  it  is  said  that  this  priest 
had  the  Pope  "  in  his  hand." 

In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  read  in 
the  Letters  of  William  i.  to  Bismarck  that  in  1876 
Bismarck,  in  a  letter  to  the  Crown  Prince  Frederick, 
mentions  a  President  von  Gerlach  as  a  Protestant 
belonging  to  the  Evangelical  Church  who,  however, 
associates  himself  with  the  "  Centre  "  (Catholic) 
party  and  the  Jesuits,  therefore  Bismarck  seems  to 
think  he  and  his  friends  are  not  to  be  trusted. 

It  was  on  the  occasion  of  this  historic  visit, 
if  my  memory  does  not  mislead  me,  that  as  the 
Emperor  drove  through  the  streets  of  Rome  in 
splendour,  escorted  by  blond  giants  of  cuirassiers, 
specially  chosen  for  length  of  limb  and  breadth  of 
shoulder  (he  shares  the  liking  of  his  predecessor, 
Frederick  the  Great's  father,  for  very  tall  men), 
he  was  now  and  again  greeted  with  the  flattering 
cry  of  "  Charlemagne  !  "     It  was  with  the  acclama- 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  107 

tions  of  hundreds  of  German  pilgrims  and  the 
whole  of  the  red-gowned  students  of  the  German 
Ecclesiastical  College  ringing  in  his  ears  that  the 
Protestant  monarch  passed  into  the  silent,  cool 
courts  of  the  Vatican,  and  for  twenty-five  minutes 
remained  in  conversation  with  the  man  who,  to 
the  minds  of  himdreds  of  millions  of  human  beings, 
represents  God  on  earth  in  all  matters  pertaining 
to  faith  and  morals.  How  strange  and  mixed 
and  tragic  must  the  memories  of  the  exile  be  ! 

In  view  of  the  much-discussed  subject  of  papal 
neutrality  during  the  War,  I  asked  at  Amerongen 
what  the  German  impression  was  about  the 
delicate  subject.  Captain  von  Ilsemann  told  me 
that  in  Germany  Benedict  xiv.  was  looked  upon 
as  being  pro-English.  I  hold  no  brief  for  the 
Papacy,  but  I  thought  this  was  a  tribute  to  its 
neutrality.  It  is  not  for  me  to  say  that  he  was 
neutral  or  otherwise,  but,  humanly  speaking,  it 
should  not  have  been  surprising  did  he  tend  more 
towards  the  Central  Powers,  consisting  as  they  did 
of  Catholic  Austria  and  Germany,  who,  notwith- 
standing her  Lutheranism,  had  done  more  politically 
to  conciliate  the  Papacy  than  any  other  modern 
Protestant  nation.  One  of  her  most  important 
acts  in  this  connection  is  the  presence  of  an  Embassy 
to  the  Vatican  as  well  as  to  the  Quirinal. 

Zionism  is  another  question  which  greatly 
perturbs  the  ex-Kaiser,  and  one  of  the  books  which 
every  one  had  been  reading  when  I  was  in  Holland 
last  summer  ^  was  the  anti-Semite  The  Protocols 
of  the  Elders  of  Zion.  The  machinations  which  the 
curious  pamphlet  purports  to  disclose  were  firmly 

*  1920. 


108  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

believed  to  have  been  among  the  causes  which 
led  to  the  World  War  and  later  to  the  rise  of  Bol- 
shevism in  Russia.  The  ex-Kaiser  shared  some 
of  the  prejudice  in  military  and  diplomatic  circles 
against  Jews,  but  he  did  not  allow  it  to  interfere 
with  his  recognition  of  the  part  played  in  raising 
the  country  to  the  pinnacle  of  commercial  success 
before  1914  by  such  of  them  as  Ballin,  the  great 
shipowner  ;  Rathenau,  the  electrician  and  financier  ; 
and  Dernburg,  managing  director  of  the  Deutsche 
Bank  before  becoming  Colonial  Secretary.  There 
also  are  not  lacking  in  Germany  brilliant  Jews 
in  other  fields  of  activity  who  have  added  to  the 
arts  and  learning  of  their  adopted  country,  such 
as  Hauptmann,  the  poet-playwright  ;  Liebermann, 
the  painter  ;  Ehrlich,  the  heroic  fighter  of  disease  ; 
and  Rheinhardt,  the  stage  wizard. 

It  is,  however,  hurtful  to  some  of  the  most 
esteemed  Jews  that  the  ex-Kaiser  should  hold 
this  view  regarding  members  of  their  faith  and 
nation,  and  a  little  book  has  come  to  my  notice 
called  the  Jewish  Bogey  and  the  Forged  Protocols 
of  the  Learned  Elders  of  Zion,  by  Lucien  Wolf, 
which  utterly  repudiates  all  the  political  misdoings 
imputed  to  the  Jews  in  the  aforesaid  pamphlet. 
It  is  well  worth  reading,  if  only  for  the  reason  that 
one  should  be  acquainted  with  both  sides  before 
making  a  judgment. 

A  man  who  is  constantly  referred  to  as  being  a 
Jew  is  Hugo  Stinnes,  one  of  the  most  important 
men  in  Germany  to-day.  But  in  the  Reichstag 
Handbook  his  religion  is  described  as  Evangelical. 
His  wealth  is  colossal,  and  I  imagine  that  he  is  far 
more  powerful  than  the  ex-Kaiser  ever  was. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  109 

He  controls  the  greater  part  of  Germany's 
coal,  iron,  and  steel  supply,  and  is  suspected  of 
having  wrecked  the  Spa  negotiations  in  order  to 
secure  the  occupation  of  the  Ruhr  Valley  and 
thus  realise  a  Franco-German  coal  combine. 

Over  and  above  this  he  owns  over  sixty  news- 
papers, and,  unlike  Lord  Northcliffe,  whose  paper 
supply  comes  from  forests  in  Newfoundland,  Hugo 
Stinnes  owns  miles  of  woods  in  Germany  for  that 
purpose.  His  influence  on  German  public  opinion 
is  growing  apace,  and  he  is  the  leader  of  the 
German  People's  Party,  which  is  anti-socialistic, 
reactionary,  and  royalist,  and  so  it  would  seem 
that  Monarchists  would  have  a  very  strong  backer 
in  this  prince  of  industry. 

Incidentally,  one  may  perhaps  say  that  the 
brains  of  the  Fatherland  to-day  are  more  successful 
in  commerce  than  in  politics.  I  well  remember 
the  admission  a  German  of  wide  experience  in 
the  world  made  to  me  when  I  met  him  in  visiting, 
in  the  autumn  of  1913,  the  home  of  the  late 
Baron  Marschall  von  Bieberstein,  who  had  died 
that  summer,  and  considered  by  far  and  away 
Germany's  greatest  diplomat.  "  We  cannot  pro- 
duce really  great  diplomats,"  he  said.  "  Perhaps 
we  are  too  rough  in  our  ways.  We  cannot 
'  finesse  '  as  other  Europeans  can." 

Of  all  the  tales  circulated  about  the  ex-Kaiser's 
versatility — as  painter  and  composer,  for  instance 
—that  crediting  him  with  an  aptitude  for  preach- 
ing has  the  greatest  semblance  of  truth.  It  was 
natural  that  he  should  be  keenly  interested  in 
religious  questions,  both  on  account  of  his  need 
as  ruler  to  reconcile  the  conflicting  political  aims 


110  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

of  the  churches  in  Germany  and  on  account  of  the 
conviction  which  his  upbringing  and  earher  en- 
vironment firmly  estabHshed  in  his  mind  that  he 
was  in  a  special  sense  a  representative  of  God  on 
earth.  It  is  not  surprising  now  that  in  the 
wreckage  of  his  glory  he  clings  to  the  consolations 
of  religion. 

At  Doom,  as  at  Amerongen,  morning  prayers 
are  part  of  the  daily  round,  but  here  they  are 
conducted  by  the  exile.  On  Sundays  a  special 
service  takes  place,  at  which  he  very  often  preaches 
himself.  I  am  told  he  has  quite  a  gift  for  this 
form  of  self-expression — a  gift  that  may  be 
dangerous  to  the  soul,  as  tending  to  make  a  man 
vain  if  he  is  not  surpassingly  humble — and  that 
what  he  says  is  interesting  and  thoughtful  and  is 
delivered  in  an  impressive  and  gripping  manner. 
There  is  no  straying  from  the  orthodox  path  ;  a 
matter  of  some  consequence,  since  many  of  the 
servants  who  attend  these  services  are  Dutch, 
and  a  wave  of  unconventional  religious  thought 
is  at  present  passing  over  Holland,  based  chiefly 
on  the  assumption  that  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ 
was  not  the  Son  of  God. 

His  orthodoxy  is,  indeed,  vouched  for  by  a 
Utrecht  minister  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church, 
whose  doctrines  in  the  main  are  similar  to  those 
of  the  Lutheran  Church  to  which  the  exile  is 
attached.  This  minister  is  a  small  and  rather 
bent  old  man,  with  patriarchal  white  locks  and 
long,  snowy  beard.  In  his  capacity  of  "  old 
friend  "  of  the  Bentinck  family  he  is  sometimes 
rather  critical  of  the  doings  and  sayings  and 
apparel  of  the  younger  generation,  but  notwith- 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  111 

standing  this — not  very  unusual — characteristic 
he  is  always  welcome  and  constantly  a  visitor  at 
Amerongen  and  Doom. 

I  noticed  that  he  spoke  long  and  often  to  the 
exile  on  the  day  of  the  wedding  reception  I 
attended  at  Amerongen ;  indeed,  some  of  the 
guests  were  obviously  a  little  surprised  at  the 
attention  which  the  latter  paid  to  him.  He  is 
apparently  never  so  happy  as  when  discussing 
theology  of  the  Calvinistic  type  with  the  recluse. 

One  can  imagine  what  texts  for  reflection  and 
discourse  they  found  in  the  mutability  of  human 
fortunes,  the  vanity  of  earthly  power,  and  the 
lessons  of  adversity. 


CHAPTER  VII 

"  Yet  looks  he  like  a  king." — King  Richard  //. 

During  the  winter  of  1919-20  Countess  Elizabeth 
Bentinck  had  become  engaged  to  Captain  Sigurd 
von  Ilsemann,  and  their  wedding  was  fixed  to 
take  place  on  7th  October  1920.  The  day  dawned 
one  of  brilliant  hot  sunshine — ^the  right  back- 
ground for  a  marriage  day. 

The  bride,  who  is  extremely  popular  in  the 
village,  had  been  asked  not  to  enter  it  for  a  week 
previous  to  the  great  day,  and  so  she  was  happily 
astonished  to  see  into  what  a  fairyland  of  greenery 
the  people  had  transformed  the  place.  Three 
miles  of  green  festoons  had  been  made  to  decorate 
the  streets,  and  here  and  there  on  the  way  to  the 
church  had  been  erected  with  boughs  charming 
little  imitation  castellated  houses.  The  villagers 
had  spared  themselves  no  trouble  to  make  this 
indeed  the  bride's  own  particular  day. 

The  ex-Kaiser  was  greatly  looking  forward 
to  the  outing  also,  and  it  was  the  first  gaiety  of 
this  sort  that  he  had  had  since  the  revolution. 
As  no  one  ever  knows  exactly  when  he  will 
arrive,  the  wedding  guests  had  been  waiting  for 
about  half  an  hour  in  the  long  rectangular  drawing- 
room  at  Amerongen.  It  was  about  eleven  o'clock. 
Conversation  went  on  easily  though  in  subdued 
tones,  but  nobody  moved  about,  and  the  array — 


(By  the  courtesy  oj  the  Proprietors  of  The  Daily  Mail.) 

FRAU  VON   ILSEMANN  HAUPTMANN  VON   ILSEMANN 

'geb:    Gravin  Bentinck).  Adjutant  to  the  ex-Kaiser. 

ON  THEIR  WEDDING  DAY.  OCTOBER  7th,    1920. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  113 

women  to  the  left,  men  to  the  right,  in  a  wide 
half-circle  facing  the  door  on  the  inner  wall — was 
ceremonious. 

Suddenly,  without  any  preliminary  warning, 
two  tall  attendants,  in  long  blue  coats  and  tricorne 
hats  and  with  silver  -  topped  staves,  flung  open 
the  big  double  door  and  announced  : 

"  Der  Kaiser  1  " 

The  hum  of  conversation  ceased  abruptly.  A 
slight,  stiffly  erect  figure  in  the  uniform  of  a 
German  field-marshal  took  two  short,  quick  steps 
into  the  room,  halted  near  the  door  with  a  smart 
click  of  the  heels,  gave  a  rapid  succession  of  slight, 
jerky  bows  to  right  and  left,  and  then,  in  the 
silent  pause  of  a  few  minutes  that  ensued,  looked 
restlessly  and  uncertainly  round  the  company. 
He  held  a  helmet  tucked  against  his  right  side 
by  his  right  arm,  and  his  left  hand  pushed  forward 
slightly  the  hilt  of  a  sword  that  had  clattered  as 
he  entered. 

I  have  described  the  ex-Kaiser's  entry  in  this 
way,  because,  by  chance,  it  was  made  in  a  dramatic 
fashion,  and  the  effect  was  heightened  rather  than 
lessened  by  his  nervousness. 

There  was  a  slight  pause,  and  for  a  few  seconds 
before  Count  Godard  came  forward  to  greet  him 
he  stood  (as  he  had  so  often  before,  but  on  how 
much  wider  a  stage)  a  solitary  figure,  to  which  all 
eyes  were  turned. 

This  was  the  first  opportunity  I  had  for  close 
observation  of  him.  I  had  many  more  that  day. 
And  I  may  begin  by  saying  that  the  reports  that 
represent  him  as  a  mental  or  physical  wreck  are 
entirely  misleading ;  they  probably  have  been 
15 


114  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

based  on  the  fact  that  his  appearance  now  is 
markedly  different  from  that  of  pre-war  days. 

He  did  not  look  his  best  at  the  moment  I  am 
describing.  He  was  obviously  in  an  extreme  state 
of  tension,  being  conscious  that  there  were  people 
there,  both  Dutch  and  English,  who  would  not 
have  cared  to  meet  him  had  it  not  been  for  their 
relationship  to  the  bride. 

It  was  a  grey  man  we  gazed  upon — grey  of 
dress,  of  face,  of  hair,  and  steely  of  eye  ;  though, 
perhaps,  putty-colour  would  more  accurately  de- 
scribe the  hue  of  his  complexion.  The  short,  soft 
beard  had  no  streaks  of  black  in  it  ;  the  moustache, 
long  and  drooping  at  the  ends,  was  a  shade  whiter  ; 
the  eyebrows  (rather  an  unusual  effect)  were  grey  ; 
the  hair,  thick  and  wavy,  but  with  no  trace  of 
dark  strands,  was  brushed  back  from  his  brow, 
not  exactly  en  brosse  in  continental  fashion  or 
flat  in  the  English,  but  with  an  um^uly  tuft  standing 
up  near  the  front. 

There  was  no  sign  of  the  old  "  Kaiser  Fire  " 
in  his  eyes  or  of  the  verve  and  "  aplomb  " — the 
"  ME's  here  "  ^ — of  pre-war  days.  Everything  sym- 
bolised by  the  moustache,  so  gaily  and  proudly 
pointing  upward,  had  gone,  and  this  changes 
the  face  so  much  as  to  make  him  look  almost  a 
different  man.  The  life,  the  enthusiasm,  the 
buoyancy  of  the  pre-war  Emperor  is  no  longer 
there,  and  in  its  place  one  sees  a  quiet,  bearded  old 
gentleman.  Not  bent  nor  weak  nor  decrepit,  as 
some  of  the  reports  would  have  us  believe.  No. 
He  stands  perfectly  erect,  and  is  a  most  noticeable 
figure.     Curiously  enough,  he  had  a  hard  look,  but 

^  See  Autobiography,  Margot  Asquith. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  115 

that  was  because  he  has  scarcely  any  eyelashes, 
and,  though  his  eyes  are  not  prominent,  there  is 
not  a  sufficiently  deep  depression  from  the  high 
cheek  bones  to  give  a  soft  contour.  His  hair  was 
neither  clipped  short  in  military  fashion  nor 
noticeably  long  ;  one  saw  that  he  had  small  ears. 
He  did  not  strike  me  as  what  one  calls  "  a  fine- 
looking  man  "  ;   he  was  rather  short  for  that. 

This  was  the  first  occasion  on  which  he  had 
appeared  in  uniform  since  his  abdication.  On  his 
breast  were  about  a  dozen  orders. 

After  Count  Godard  had  welcomed  the  visitor 
(the  ex-Kaiser  is  always  addressed  as  "  Majestat  " 
— "  Your  Majesty  " — and  he  prefers  the  word 
"  Emperor  "  to  "  Kaiser  "),  a  tour  was  made  of 
the  half -circle,  and  the  guests  were  presented  one 
by  one.  Each  made  a  bow,  low  in  some  cases, 
slight  in  others,  and  his  friends  received  a  warm 
handshake  accompanied  by  a  click  of  the  heels. 

With  those  whom  he  had  already  met  the 
ex-Kaiser  exchanged  a  few  amiable  sentences,  and 
with  a  few  ladies,  relations  of  the  bride,  he  had 
quite  long  conversations.  I  noticed  that  his  eyes 
did  not  rest  on  the  one  to  whom  he  was  speaking. 
His  glance  was  always  darting  here  and  there. 

The  formalities'  of  introduction  over,  the  half- 
circle  broke  up  into  little  shifting  groups  for 
conversation.  The  guests  wore  ordinary  light 
garden-party  dress,  for  the  day  was  mild,  even 
summery  ;  the  younger  men  were  in  morning 
dress,  many  of  the  older  in  frock-coats.  There 
was  no  constraint,  but  the  tones  were  a  little 
subdued,  in  deference  to  the  ex-Kaiser's  well-known 
dislike  of  loud-voiced  talk.     The  ex-Kaiser  himself 


116  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

stood  quietly  chatting  with  his  host  and  men  of 
the  family  with  whom  he  was  acquainted,  and 
who  came  up  from  time  to  time.  He  gesticulated 
a  little,  but  the  impression  was  of  a  quiet,  elderly 
man,  friendly  and  genial  in  manner,  and  without 
any  pose  ;  for  by  now  the  ice  was  broken,  and  he 
was  quite  at  ease. 

As  I  said  before,  he  was  looking  forward  with 
an  almost  juvenile  zest  to  tliis  "  outing,"  and 
the  scene,  bright  with  flags  and  flowers,  and 
lively  with  the  villagers  en  fete,  was  an  animating 
experience  that  he  had  not  enjoyed  for  long.  And 
what  gave  him  particular  pleasure  was  the  fact 
that  the  daughter  of  the  Count,  the  young  hostess 
of  many  months  of  whom  he  had  grown  very  fond, 
was  being  married  to  his  trusted  adjutant  and  in- 
separable follower.  Captain  von  Ilsemann. 

The  bride  is  very  Dutch  in  all  her  sympathies, 
proud  of  the  country  in  which  her  ancestors  have 
struck  such  deep  root  for  centuries  past.  She 
had  lived  a  very  quiet,  retired  life,  and  the  change 
for  her  when  the  Kaiser  first  arrived  was  immense. 
She  was  the  only  lady  in  the  Castle,  and  her  shy 
grace  and  sweetness  had  given  her  great  charm  as 
a  hostess  to  an  exile  deeply  wounded  in  spirit  when 
first  he  came.  His  affection  for  her  had  grown 
to  be  almost  paternal. 

We  had  all  been  talking  for  about  a  quarter  of 
an  hour  when  the  bride  and  Captain  von  Ilsemann 
entered.  The  ex-Kaiser  advanced  impulsively  to 
meet  her,  as  she  made  a  deep  curtsy,  and  shook  her 
hand  long  and  warmly,  smiling  and  talking  eagerly. 
His  handshaking,  I  may  say,  is  of  the  most  cordial 
kind  when  it  is  a  friend  he  greets.     He  brings  his 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  117 

hand  forward  with  a  wide,  swift,  sweeping  gesture, 
as  if  his  heart  were  in  it.  There  are  occasions,  it 
is  true,  when  he  tenders  two  cold  fingers  ;  but  that 
is  another  story. 

From  the  time  of  the  bride's  entry  until  the 
preparations  for  the  civil  mnrriage  ceremony, 
which  were  meantime  going  on  in  another  room, 
were  completed,  he  remained  chatting  to  the  bride, 
apparently  happy  and  as  simple  in  manner  as 
any  elderly,  long-standing  friend  of  the  family 
might  be.  Then  the  signal  was  given  that  all  was 
ready,  and  nearly  the  whole  of  the  company  left 
the  room,  the  ex-Kaiser  among  them,  for  he  was 
to  sign  the  register  as  a  witness.  I  was  one  of  the 
few  who  remained  behind,  and  so  cannot  say 
anything  about  the  ceremony,  excepting  that  it 
seemed  long,  about  half  an  hour  altogether,  I 
think. 

The  bride  and  bridegroom  were  the  first  to 
return  to  the  drawing-room.  Then,  a  few  minutes 
later,  came  the  ex-Kaiser,  his  host,  and  a  niece  ; 
and  what  appeared  to  me  a  pretty  incident  took 
place.  The  bride,  perhaps  thinking  of  the  change 
in  her  position  her  marriage  to  the  exile's  adjutant 
had  made,  began  to  make  a  real  royal  curtsy. 
At  once  the  ex-Kaiser  hastened  forward,  and  with 
extended  arm  stopped  her.  "  Nein,  nein,  nein  !  " 
he  exclaimed,  smiling  to  her  in  friendly  reproof. 

Everything  was  informal  at  this  stage,  con- 
gratulations to  the  newly  wed  couple  being  post- 
poned until  after  the  ceremony  in  church.  People 
moved  about  chatting  until  Count  Godard  Ben- 
tinck  approached  the  ex-Kaiser  and  said  something 
to  him,  and  together  they  went  to  another  room. 


118  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

It  was  time  to  go  to  the  village  church — Dutch 
Reformed — where  a  minister  from  Utrecht,  the 
friend  of  the  Bentinck  family  to  whom  I  just 
referred,  officiated. 

I  pass  over  the  ceremony  at  the  church,  as  the 
ex-Kaiser  was  not  present.  The  weather  being 
fine,  the  guests  being  conveyed  in  open  horsed 
carriages,  and  the  villagers  loudly  cheering  a  bride 
who  had  passed  her  life  among  them,  the  drive  to 
and  from  the  Castle  was  extremely  pleasant  and 
picturesque.  Outside  the  church,  on  our  way 
back,  the  whole  party  was  kinematographed. 

On  the  top  of  the  steps  of  the  bridge  over  the 
inner  moat — ^the  Castle  is  enclosed  by  two — ^the 
ex-Kaiser  stood  awaiting  the  return  of  the  bride. 
She  and  her  husband  were  in  the  first  carriage  ; 
I  was  in,  I  think,  the  fourth,  and  so  I  did  not  see 
the  greeting.  I  was  told  it  was  most  paternal, 
and  I  could  readily  picture  it  from  what  I  had 
seen  of  the  long  conversation  in  the  drawing-room 
and  the  spontaneous  movement  by  which  he  had 
checked  her  attempt  to  curtsy. 

When  I  reached  the  drawing-room  he  was 
standing  alone  in  a  far  corner,  while  the  bride 
and  bridegroom  at  the  head  of  the  room  were 
beginning  to  receive  the  formal — and  very  hearty 
— congratulations  of  the  guests.  This  was  the 
bride's  hour,  and  he  kept  unobtrusively  out  of  the 
way,  only  following  everything  with  his  eyes,  until 
the  procession  of  guests  had  ended.  It  is  only 
fair  to  say,  indeed,  that  his  attitude  the  whole  of 
the  day,  apart  from  the  moment  of  his  abrupt  entry, 
was  as  unobtrusive  and  far  from  posing  as  possible. 

It  was  perhaps  twenty  minutes  before  luncheon 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  119 

was  announced.  By  that  time  the  ex-Kaiser, 
still  in  his  corner,  was  chatting  with  some  of  the 
men,  one  of  the  small  groups  away  from  the  big 
one  surrounding  the  bride.  He  led  the  way  from 
the  drawing-room  with  a  niece  of  the  host  and 
mother  of  one  of  the  little  bridesmaids — there  was 
no  "  best  man  "  at  the  marriage  ceremony,  and 
only  child  bridesmaids. 

Luncheon  was  served  in  the  large  picture- 
gallery  encircling  the  main  staircase,  notable  for 
its  collection  of  paintings  of  the  Dutch  school  and 
its  many  objets  d^art.  At  the  head  of  the  main 
table  sat  the  ex-Kaiser  next  to  the  bride  ;  there 
were  about  six  tables  disposed  round  the  gallery. 

It  was  a  quiet  function.  The  meal  was  slight 
but  of  extreme  excellence — everything  being  cold 
except  the  consomme,  four  courses  being  served  in 
an  hour,  with  a  servant  to  each  two  guests.  The 
ex-Kaiser,  who  ate  sparingly  and  sipped  hock,  had 
long  lost  any  trace  of  his  initial  nervousness,  and 
seemed  in  excellent  spirits  as  he  turned  from  one 
to  the  other  of  his  companions. 

On  the  wall  to  his  left  was  a  life-size  marble 
bust  of  himself  which  he  had  presented  to  his 
host.  One's  eyes  strayed  from  it  to  him  ;  and 
one  thought  of  then  and  now.  It  was,  I  believe, 
sculptured  at  the  beginning  of  the  War.  Here  was 
the  War  Lord,  dominating,  self-confident,  moody, 
changeable,  tragic  ;  helmeted,  with  the  folds  of  a 
military  cloak  falling  loosely  round  his  shoulders, 
the  outstretched  right  hand  grasping  a  sceptre. 
Who,  looking  from  the  marble  to  the  man,  would 
not  reflect  on  his  strange  destiny  ?  But,  apart 
from  such  reflections,   one   was  afforded   a  most 


120  THE  EX-KAIStiR  IN  EXILE 

instructive  comparison  in  personal  appearance.  One 
saw  that  it  was  his  grey  beard  and  the  long, 
drooping  moustache  that  had  the  biggest  part  in 
the  change  from  truculence  in  its  prime  to  an 
elderly  benignity. 

Among  the  toasts  proposed  was  one  to  the 
leading  guest.  It  was  briefly  put  by  the  host  and 
quietly  responded  to.  Standing  up,  he  said 
quietly  in  German  (he  could  not  be  heard  a  little 
distance  away),  "  I  thank  you  very  much.  I  am 
glad  to  be  here  on  the  happy  day  of  your  dear 
child's  wedding." 

Luncheon  over,  most  of  us  went  out  of  doors, 
the  ex-Kaiser  leading  the  way.  While  half  of  us 
lingered  on  the  bridge  over  the  inner  moat,  he 
went  down  into  the  courtyard  and  stood  most  of 
the  time  a  little  way  to  the  left  of  the  steps  and 
half  hidden  by  a  large  pillar,  chatting  with  various 
members  of  the  family. 

From  his  long  stay  at  the  Castle  he  was  well 
versed  in  all  the  concerns  and  the  little  idiosyncrasies 
of  the  household  and  its  retainers  ;  and,  naturally, 
on  that  day  family  gossip  took  first  place.  Thus 
there  was  some  merriment  ;  but  there  was  no 
throwing  back  the  head  and  hearty  laughing  as  I 
have  been  told  there  was  in  the  old  days. 

To  persons  trained  in  and  for  Courts  a  good 
memory  and  a  sharp  eye  for  small  things  as  well 
as  large  are,  if  not  indispensable,  at  least  highly 
desirable  qualifications.  Royalty,  for  instance,  is 
supposed  never  to  forget  a  face  or  a  name  ;  or,  at 
least,  if  it  does  so,  never  to  betray  the  fact.  Such 
gifts  and  accomplishments  are  the  ex-Kaiser's  in 
abundance. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  121 

Little  escapes  him  at  any  assembly.  His  pale, 
vigilant,  side-glancing  eyes  take  in  every  detail  of 
looks,  dress,  manner,  and  equipment.  And  that 
is  particularly  the  case  if  he  has  the  fortune — 
which  does  not  happen  very  often  nowadays  ! — 
to  see  pretty,  well-dressed  people. 

Everything  is  noticed  then — ^the  colour  and 
make  of  a  gown  ;  whether  it  is  too  long  or  too 
short,  and  how  it  is  worn  ;  whether  or  not  ankles 
are  neat  and  feet  are  well  shod ;  what  jewels  are 
worn,  and  how  they  match  the  owner's  garments 
and  the  colour  of  her  eyes.  And,  after  a  party 
is  over,  he  will  speak  critically  or  admiringly  of  the 
looks  or  the  clothing  of  the  guests. 

I  had  ample  leisure  at  the  wedding  reception 
at  Amerongen,  of  which  I  have  already  spoken, 
to  observe  this  trait  in  the  exile's  character.  The 
dresses  there  were  less  decorative  and  more  old- 
fashioned  than  they  would  have  been  at  a  similar 
gathering  in  England. 

Until  lately  it  was  the  custom  of  French  people 
to  twit  the  English  with  having  clumsy  feet  or 
ankles ;  they  held  all  the  gold  medals,  so  to  speak. 
Recently  we  have  improved  in  this  respect  ;  one 
sees  plenty  of  pretty,  slender  feet  and  ankles 
neatly  and  narrowly  shod  and  smartly  stockinged 
in  silk.  But  the  Germans  and  Dutch  are  in  the 
position  we  were  accused  of  occupying.  The  men 
themselves  complain  of  the  comparative  rarity 
of  the  slim  and  elegant  English  or  American  type 
among  their  womenfolk.  Two  or  three  of  the 
guests,  however,  by  the  shortness  of  their  skirts 
(in  comparison  with  those  of  others — for  they 
would  have  been  deemed  on  the  long  side  in 
i6 


122  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

England)  showed  trim  ankles,  and  the  ex- Kaiser 
commented  on  the  fact.  There  were  others  who 
he  thought  would  have  been  better  advised  not 
to  comply  with  the  exigencies  of  a  fashion  requiring 
a  shortening  of  the  skirts !  The  wearing  of  silk 
stockings  is  not  so  general  as  in  England,  and  the 
old  pastor  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  who  was 
at  the  reception,  was  loud  in  his  condemnation  of 
such  "  useless  frivolities  "  ! 

I  write  in  no  critical  spirit  ;  I  merely  compare 
this  gathering  to  one  of  the  same  kind  in  England. 
But  even  "comparisons,"  says  Shakespeare,  "are 
odorous  !  " 

Courtly  manners  are  still  de  rigueur  there,  and 
when  met  are  much  appreciated  if  only  for  the 
fact  that  they  are  becoming  noticeably  rare  in 
England — except,  of  course,  in  a  certain  circle 
where  no  one  would  be  tolerated  whose  behaviour 
did  not  conform  to  certain  standards.  The  charm 
created  by  such  manners  is  an  elusive  thing,  but 
though  the  parfum  it  exhales  is  delicate  and 
difficult  to  describe  it  always  makes  its  presence 
felt. 

The  ex- Kaiser  likes  his  own  womenfolk  to  be 
simply  and  quietly  attired — ^the  unnoticeable  in 
blue  or  grey  or  dark  stuff,  with  little  ornamenta- 
tion. Nowadays  he  sees  little  else  than  the  simple 
and  old-fashioned.  He  is  not  much  in  the  open 
beyond  his  own  grounds,  and  if  he  were,  there 
would  be  few  diversities  of  attire  to  catch  his  eye. 

The  vogue  for  wearing  slightly  outre  clothes 
has  not  yet  widely  spread  in  Holland,  nor,  I 
imagine,  in  Germany,  and  there  one  sees  no  smart, 
peculiarly  striped  tweed  skirts,  no  gay  silk  jumpers. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  123 

no  tight-fitting  caps  drawn  closely  round  the  face 
and  allowing  the  escape  of  tantalising  curls,  no 
"  saucy  "  woollen  stockings  nor  well-made  Scotch 
brogues  or  shooting  shoes.  Oh  no  !  But  should 
a  person  appear  thus  garbed,  it  would  cause  much 
amused  comment  on,  though  withal  a  lurking 
disapproval  of,  "  your  extraordinary  English 
fashions." 

But  he,  as  any  other  man  who  frowns  on  the 
adventurous  in  the  dress  of  his  own  people  may 
be,  is  susceptible  to  the  appeal  of  the  exotic  in 
others.  Perhaps,  too,  a  vivid  or  elegant  gown 
recalls  Court  days,  when,  however  stiff  and  formal 
the  general  tone  might  be,  there  were  always  some 
beautiful  women  to  give  freshness  and  life  to  the 
assemblies.  The  ex-Crown  Princess,  quick-witted 
and  charming,  was,  it  will  be  remembered,  doing 
much  to  remove  the  reproach  of  dowdiness  that 
clung  to  the  dress  reputation  of  German  women. 

Generally,  however,  it  was,  and  is,  only  at  a 
distance  that  the  ex-Kaiser  finds  unconventionality 
amusing,  however  often  he  may  express  a  liking 
for  it  in  the  abstract.  Rigid  conformity  to 
historical  procedure  was  practised  at  his  Court, 
and  would  be  again,  I  am  sure,  if  he  were  back  in 
Berlin. 

As  I  visited  this  town  only  as  a  tourist  I  was 
not  present  at  any  Court  ceremonies,  but  these, 
though  no  doubt  stiffer  and  less  elegant,  could  not 
outdo  those  of  Vienna  in  scrupulous  observance  of 
traditional  custom.  Here  were  given  two  kinds  of 
State  Balls  :  one  was  called  a  "  Hof  Bal,"  at  which, 
I  believe,  there  was  a  large  crowed,  and  for  which 
it  wasn't  very  difficult  to  obtain  an  invitation ;  the 


124  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

other  was  called  the  "  Bal-bei-Hof,"  and  this  was, 
I  imagine,  the  most  exclusive  assemblage  of  its 
kind  in  Europe.  I  was  invited  to  this  Ball  when  I 
was  staying  with  a  friend  in  Vienna  in  February 
1910,  and  was  much  struck  by  its  remarkable 
adherence  to  tradition,  which  almost  amounted 
to  ritual,  so  exactly  did  the  ceremony  follow  a 
prescribed  rule.  From  the  days  of  Maria  Theresa, 
incidentally  the  last  of  the  Hapsburgs,  no  deviation 
of  any  sort  in  the  way  of  form  had  taken  place — 
the  same  "  menu,"  from  the  identical  recipes,  being 
used  on  the  night  I  dined  off  a  three  hundred  years 
old  oak  table  and  drank  the  finest  iced  Pilsener  out 
of  heavy,  chalice-shaped  glasses  as  had  been  the 
case  during  the  reign  of  that  great  Empress. 
Champagne  was  never  brought  in  at  these  feasts ; 
it  was  much  too  modern  an  innovation  ! 

It  will  be  noticed  from  the  invitation  card, 
of  which  I  give  a  reproduction,  that  an  amusing 
mistake  was  made  in  the  writing  of  my  name ! 

On  entering  the  ballroom,  the  walls  of  which 
were  mirrored,  the  Lord  Chamberlain,  Prince 
Montenuovo,  approached  me,  and  I  was  asked  to 
come  and  be  presented  to  the  Archduchess,  who 
was  doing  hostess  that  night  for  the  old  Emperor 
Franz- Joseph. 

All  the  other  guests — perhaps  two  hundred — 
were  standing  along  one  side  of  the  large  room,  and 
I,  to  my  horror,  found  myself  following  this  exceed- 
ingly tall  and  magnificent -looking  personage  across 
the  centre  of  the  room — alone.  A  few  minutes  later 
a  door  opposite  opened,  and  from  another  glittering 
room  of  gold  and  mirrors  and  scintillating  chande- 
liers the  Royal  procession  advanced  towards  me. 


IL-    |.l'..lol    ,,«.-.t('. 

LWITATIOX  TO  THE  BAL-BEI-HOF  IN   \'IENXA 
(Showing  the   mistake   made  in   the   writing  of  my   name). 


V"  Walzer 
l"  Quaiirille 
2"'^  Walzer 

Laucier 

Cotillon 

SOUPEK  (7^12  Uhr> 

3'"  Walzer 
2'"  Quadrille 
^i.r  Walzer 
Sclinellpolia 

7     Pf-hruir   ILUO- 


Programme  of  the  Danxinx. 
at  the   Bal-bei-Hoi. 


Souper  du  7  Fevrier  1910, 

Iloui 

Ion.   —   Crt'iiie   d'orgc 

Diclv 

a  la  gelee 

Ze|.! 

yr   St,   Huln-rt. 

Chai 

lon^i   rotis,   salade,   compote. 

(.liar 

lolic  aux  pfeclies 

Dessert 

Menu  of  the  Supper 

At  the  Bal-bei-Hof  in  Vienna 

at  which  I   was  present. 

It  is  identical  with  that  used  during  the  reign  of 
Maria-Theresa,  the  last  of  the  Hapsburgs  (1717- 
1780).  Her  father  (Charles  VI)  it  was  who 
conferred  a  Countship  on  the  Hon.  William 
Bentinck   on  December  24th,    1732. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  125 

The  late  Archduke  Franz  Ferdinand  was  there 
with  his  wife,  Countess  Hohenberg.  She  took  no 
part  whatever  in  the  official  part  of  the  proceed- 
ings, all  the  presentations  being  made  to  an  Arch- 
duchess who  was,  I  believe,  a  Princess  of  Parma. 
I  was  immensely  struck  on  this  occasion  by  her 
unpleasantly  ambiguous  position,  and  it  is  always 
said  that  it  was  through  the  influence  of  the 
German  Emperor  at  the  Court  of  Vienna  that  she 
was  given  any  consideration  at  all  in  public  social 
functions.  I  mention  this  little  episode  and  give 
the  menu  and  the  invitation  which  bade  me  to 
the  Ball  as  an  interesting  memory  of  days  which 
are  no  more. 

As  in  dress,  so  in  general  outlook,  the  ex-Kaiser 
prefers  the  "  old-fashioned  "  type  of  woman,  the 
German  "  frau,"  to  whom  "  Mein  Mann  "  is  the 
cherished  embodiment  of  wisdom  and  authority. 
He  likes  the  self-effacing  woman,  the  one  as 
observant  of  the  changes  in  the  mind  as  is  the 
fisherman  of  the  water's  surface  when  the  winds 
blow  lightly  across  it,  who  hangs  on  his  words 
admiringly,  whose  desire  is  submissively  to  comfort 
a  man  who  is  to-day  indeed  a  wounded  exile  but  is 
still  potentially  a  towering  figure. 

He  likes  the  kind  whose  voice  is  hushed  and 
sympathetic  in  his  presence,  and  to  whom  "  the 
Emperor  likes  this  "  or  "  he  doesn't  like  that  " 
is  sufficient  to  influence  deportment.  Their  eager- 
ness for  his  welfare,  indignation  at  the  world's 
treatment  of  him,  and,  above  all,  a  listening 
attitude  and  a  rapt  reception  of  his  monologues 
are  the  passports  to  his  favour. 

Not  that  women  play  much  part  in  the  life 


120  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

at  Doom  —  and  less  than  ever  since  the  late 
Empress's  death.  It  is  men  who  gather  round 
him  and  in  whose  company  he  is  most  at  home. 

Even  among  them,  as  among  women,  his 
vanity  makes  him  sensitive  to  any  suggestion  of 
absence  of  regard,  even  so  slight  as  is  implied  by 
lack  of  eagerness  to  court  his  gaze.  A  man  whom 
he  saw  sometimes  in  Berlin  never  obtruded  himself 
on  his  notice,  and  when  at  "  Kaiserliche  "  receptions 
remained  outside  the  circle  that  buzzed  round 
the  Imperial  magnet.  It  annoyed  the  Kaiser  that 
this  person  did  not  seek  to  be  near  him  ;  but  if 
the  man  had  pushed  himself  forward  he  would  more 
than  likely  have  incurred  the  Royal  displeasure. 
He  is  generally  inclined,  however,  to  be  friendly 
and  genial  with  people  whose  social  position  is  in 
no  way  comparable  with  his. 

No  one  needs  to  be  reminded  of  the  difference 
in  the  attitude  of  the  English  or  Americans  and 
the  Germans  to  women,  but  I  may  perhaps  note 
two  little  illustrations  which  came  under  my  eyes. 
One  was  at  Dresden,  when  driving  to  some  military 
manoeuvres  in  which  the  Emperor  rode  in  front  of 
his  glittering  "  Garde  du  Corps."  A  carriage 
passed  us,  and  in  it  sat  two  smartly  dressed 
officers  and  a  lad3^  The  officers  sat  facing  the 
horse,  the  lady  with  her  back  to  the  animal.  The 
other  was  in  Thuringia,  where  we  had  been  to 
visit  the  house  w'here  Luther  is  supposed  to  have 
thrown  the  ink-pot  at  the  Devil.  Here  I  saw  a 
man  driving  a  woman  and  an  ox  yoked  to  a 
plough. 

The  ex-Kaiser  particularly  resents  that  people 
should  impute  to  him  discourteous  behaviour.     In 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  127 

the  early  days  of  the  War  he  stayed  for  a  time 
in  a  chateau  belonging  to  a  lady  who  had  fled 
at  a  moment's  notice,  leaving  all  her  personal 
belongings  lying  about — buckled  shoes  under  the 
dressing-table,  stockings  hanging  out  of  open 
drawers,  and  the  clothing  she  had  just  exchanged 
for  her  travelling  garb  carelessly  thrown  on  to 
the  bed. 

When  the  Royal  suite  arrived  the  first  thing 
the  ex-Emperor  did  was  to  have  long  lists  of  all  the 
lady's  possessions  made,  and  then  he  had  them  all 
put  away  into  certain  apartments  which  he  ordered 
to  be  locked.  The  key  and  the  lists  of  her  belong- 
ings he  then  had  sent  to  her  in  Brussels,  whither 
she  had  fled.  She  persisted,  however,  in  spread- 
ing a  report  that  his  people  had  looted  her  chateau. 
Much  later  the  house  was  destroyed  by  the  guns  of 
all  nations  ;  and  so  I  suppose  she  never  saw  her 
exceedingly  marvellous  garments  again. 

A  characteristic  act  of  the  Kaiser's,  of  which 
I  was  amused  to  hear,  took  place  at  Constanti- 
nople, whither  he  and  the  Empress  went  with  a 
large  "  suite." 

With  Captain  von  Ilsemann  and  other  attend- 
ants he  visited  some  of  the  harems  and  was  much 
struck  by  the  beauty  and  youth  of  some  of  the 
inmates.  I  do  not  know  whether  it  was  a  result 
of  these  visits  or  not,  but  the  Kaiser  announced 
his  wish  that  during  his  sojourn  all  the  Turkish 
women  should  go  unveiled  !  This  request,  or 
order — for  at  that  time  the  Kaiser  was  a  person  of 
tremendous  importance  to  the  Turks — was  obeyed. 
It  struck  me  as  one  of  the  most  autocratic  acts 
1 1  had  ever  heard  attributed  to  William  ii. 


128  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

The  late  ex-Kaiserin  was  of  a  very  different 
temperament  to  her  husband,  and  maybe  she  shared 
the  view  of  the  late  Mrs.  Roosevelt  that  "  a 
woman's  name  should  only  be  mentioned  twice 
in  public^ — on  the  day  of  her  marriage  and  the  day 
of  her  death."  But,  retiring  and  devoted  to 
the  home  and  charities  as  she  was,  she  did  not 
lack  perspicacity  in  public  affairs.  I  was  told  she 
was  one  of  the  first  to  recognise  the  revolutionary 
danger. 

During  the  summer  of  1918  certain  great  ladies 
were  giving  big  parties,  with  buffets  loaded  with 
every  kind  of  rich  food  and  rare  delicacy.  This 
behaviour  annoyed  the  Kaiserin  very  much,  and 
she  made  it  known  that  she  strongly  disapproved 
of  it  at  a  time  when  it  was  common  knowledge 
that  people  were  starving.  Very  different  from 
the  "  Why  don't  they  eat  cake,  then  ?  "  of  Marie 
Antoinette,  when  told  the  people  of  Paris  had  no 
bread. 

The  two  other  ladies  most  closely  bound  to 
the  ex-Kaiser  are,  of  course,  the  ex-Crown  Princess 
and  his  daughter,  the  Duchess  of  Brunswick.  The 
Duchess  was  known  before  her  marriage  to  be  the 
only  person  who  could  wheedle  "  papa  "  to  do 
her  will  against  his  own.  She,  the  only  daughter 
in  a  family  of  seven,  is  now  the  mother  of  four  boys. 
It  is  curious  how  the  male  sex  predominates  in  the 
Hohenzollern  family.  In  looks  she  is  typically 
German. 

Her  sister-in-law  might  readily  be  taken  for  a 
Frenchwoman.  She  is  always  beautifully  dressed, 
and  the  lead  she  gave  was  resulting  in  a  great 
change  in  women's  fashions  in  Germany  when  the 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  129 

War  came  and  stopped  that  particular  develop- 
ment. Her  prestige  in  Germany  is  still  quite 
remarkable. 

To  servants  the  ex-Kaiser  has  a  pleasant 
manner.  His  personal  attendants  seem  strongly 
attached  to  him,  and  the  general  servants,  most 
of  whom  are  Dutch,  show  every  sign  of  content 
with  their  occupation.  I  have  already  noted  that 
he  makes  friendly  inquiries  about,  and  gives 
presents  to,  servants  at  Amerongen.  The  nurse 
who  went  with  me  to  Holland,  after  seeing  him 
and  hearing  what  the  others  had  to  say,  asked 
me,  wonderingly,  if  he  could  really  be  so  wicked 
as  people  had  said. 


17 


CHAPTER  VIII 

"  Ghosts  only  come  to  those  who  look  for  them." — Holtei. 

The  subject  of  missing  property  during  the  War, 
or  "  lost,"  was,  as  I  said  in  the  last  chapter,  a  sore 
one  with  the  exile,  and  he  was  highly  indignant 
that  there  should  have  been  any  suggestion  that 
he  was  not  careful  of  other  people's  possessions. 
A  good  deal  of  interest  was  taken  by  some  of  the 
English  illustrated  papers  early  in  the  War  in  the 
famous  "  pastels  "  of  St.  Quentin — some  eighty  of 
the  drawings  of  eighteenth-century  beauties  by 
Quentin  la  Tour,  which,  "  the  most  delicate 
flowers  of  a  refined  art,"  were  among  the  greatest 
treasures  of  the  town. 

He  had  them  all  packed  by  experts  and  sent 
to  Berlin,  where  he  had  a  book  compiled  containing 
the  history  and  a  reproduction  of  each  picture. 
The  book  I  saw  lately,^  and  I  can  testify  to  its 
beauty.  When  all  the  copies  were  made,  the 
originals,  it  is  claimed,  were  carefully  returned  to 
their  rightful  owners. 

The  late  ex-Kaiserin  very  much  resented  what 
was  said  about  the  ex- Kaiser  in  the  Press,  and  this, 
amongst  other  things,  led  her  to  entertain  strong 
anti -British  feelings.  It  is  curious  to  reflect  that 
this  mild  and  kindly  woman,  easily  moved  to 
help  those  in  distress  near  her,  and  keeping  aloof 

1  September  1920. 

130 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  131 

from  politics,  was  the  one  at  Doorn  who  was  dis- 
tinguished by  a  bitter  dislike  for  the  English — 
she  would  on  no  aceount  ever  see  any  one  of  the 
race,  if  such  a  meeting  were  desired  by  the  other 
side.  This  may  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  she 
was  typically  German  in  her  home  life.  One  knows 
how  the  husband  bulks  in  the  households  of  the 
Fatherland — a  massive  figure  !  Violent  hands 
were  to  be  laid  on  her  husband.  That  was  indelibly 
impressed  on  her  mind  as  the  central  fact  ;  and 
to  her  the  other  facts  were  of  little  account. 

Since  she  went  to  Doorn  she  was  so  ill  that  she 
seldom  saw  any  one  but  her  most  intimate  friends, 
and  Countess  Keller  and  Countess  von  Brockdorff- 
Rantzau  were  the  ladies  who  were  most  constantly 
with  her. 

She  spent  much  of  her  time  in  making  and 
knitting  garments  for  the  children  in  the  most 
impoverished  parts  of  Germany,  and  seldom  left 
her  rooms,  but  the  homely  side  of  the  life  around 
her  always  awakened  her  interest.  Nykerk,  a 
place  on  the  Zuyder  Zee  well  known  to  tourists  and 
about  twenty  miles  from  Doorn,  is  one  of  the  few 
places  where  peasants  still  wear  the  traditional 
dress  of  the  countr}^  a  peculiarity  of  which  is  that 
little  girls  of  from  four  to  fourteen  are  dressed 
like  old  women  and  don  numberless  parti-coloured 
petticoats,  twenty-seven  having  been  the  highest 
number  so  far  attained  !  Sometimes  these  children 
come  to  Doorn,  and  the  ex-Kaiserin  was  always 
amused  to  see  them. 

One  of  the  ex-Kaiser's  pleasures  now  is  to 
give  or  to  go  to  luncheon  and  dinner  parties,  at 
which  are  present  people  whose  acquaintance  he 


132  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

has  made  since  his  arrival.  But  not  all  the 
neighbours  enter  into  relations  with  him.  There 
is,  indeed,  a  strong  party  in  Holland,  and  not  only 
in  democratic  circles,  which  views  the  presence 
of  the  exile  with  great  disfavour.  It  is  often 
said  that  Holland  is  pro-German,  but  before 
anything  Holland  is  sturdily  and  steadfastly  pro- 
Dutch  1  Apropos  these  parties,  there  was  a  diffi- 
culty last  September  in  obtaining  meat  owing  to 
the  prevalence  of  foot-and-mouth  disease  in  the 
district.  Count  Godard  thereupon  sent  as  much 
game  as  he  could  to  Doom,  though  at  that  time 
partridges  were  the  only  available  birds.  As  the 
exile  has  no  shooting  of  his  own  these  were  very 
acceptable. 

To  Amerongen  he  goes  frequently,  sometimes 
on  very  short  notice.  One  may  judge  how  little 
he  is  inclined  to  dally  over  his  own  luncheon  by 
the  fact  that,  though  that  meal  is  fixed  at  Doom 
for  one  o'clock,  he  often  telephones  that  he  will 
arrive  at  Amerongen  about  two.  On  these 
occasions  he  usually  remains  for  the  whole  after- 
noon and  sometimes  until  as  late  as  seven  o'clock. 
The  duration  of  his  stay  largely  depends  on 
whether  the  turn  of  the  conversation  leads  him 
on  to  favourite  subjects. 

His  talk,  then,  has  "  an  infinite  variety,"  touch- 
ing upon  works  of  philosophy,  music,  religion, 
history,  travel,  Assyriology,  and  Egyptology.  I 
mention  the  last  because  he  is  very  much  interested 
in  the  history  of  ancient  civilisation.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  in  his  travels  in  the  East  he 
showed  a  practical  interest  in  the  excavations  on 
the  sites  of  buried  cities.     He  has  not  lost  that 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  133 

interest,  and  when  the  subject  is  broached  the 
conversation  tends  to  become  chiefly  a  monologue. 

Religion  in  all  its  aspects  is  also  a  favourite 
topic  with  him,  and  this  leaning  he  may  perhaps 
inherit  from  his  ancestor,  Frederick  William  ii., 
maker  of  the  alliance  between  England,  Prussia, 
and  Holland  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  years 
ago,  who  was  much  inclined  to  look  upon  the 
mystic  side  of  life,  and  constantly  had  recourse  to 
mediums  for  advice  in  political  affairs.  Bismarck, 
in  the  third  volume  of  his  Thoughts  and  Remini- 
scences which  have  lately  appeared,  refers  to  this 
peculiarity  in  Frederick  William,  for  it  was  a  trait 
of  which  his  sturdy  character  did  not  approve ; 
and  it  will  be  remembered  that  the  first  difference 
between  him  and  the  young  Prince  arose  when 
the  latter  supported  a  Court  chaplain's  plan  for 
fighting  the  rising  Socialist  movement  by  means 
of  Christian  teaching. 

I  heard  that  William  ii.  was  interested  in  the 
researches  into  supernormal  phenomena  which  a 
well-known  Bavarian  was  making  on  the  lines 
followed  by  Sir  William  Crookes  and  Sir  Oliver 
Lodge ;  but  it  was  a  subject  which  was  not 
congenial ;  and  how  little  his  entourage,  who 
usually  reflect  his  views,  were  inclined  to  give 
credence  to  such  legends  as  that  of  the  "  Angels 
of  Mons  "  will  appear  from  the  following  account 
of  a  conversation  in  which  I  took  part. 

One  night,  after  dinner  at  Amerongen,  our  talk 
turned — as  it  so  often  does  in  life,  and  more 
especially  at  the  present  time — on  ghosts  and  super- 
natural phenomena,  and  as  a  natural  consequence 
the  subject  of  the  **  Angels  of  Mons  "  was  broached. 


134  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

Captain  von  Ilsemann,  the  ex-Kaiser's  aide-de- 
camp, asked  me  whether  I  believed  in  the  story. 
I  told  him  that  I  had  never  met  any  one  who  had 
seen  the  vision  with  his  own  eyes,  but  that,  on 
the  other  hand,  I  did  not  find  it  at  all  diffieult 
to  believe. 

"  British  people  always  believe  in  such  things," 
he  replied  laughingly,  "  and  there  they  differ  very 
much  from  the  German  razees.  Besides,  it  is 
nearly  always  women  who  give  credence  to  such 
tales  ;    men  are  seldom  affected  by  them." 

"  I  must  say,  though,"  he  went  on,  "  that 
although  there  is  nothing  analogous  to  the  '  Angels 
of  Mons  '  story  in  the  German  Army,  we  often 
thought  we  saw  masses  of  men  behind  your  first 
line  troops,  and  were  surprised  that  you  did  not 
follow  up  your  advance  on  these  occasions,  feeling 
so  sure  that  you  had  plenty  of  reserves.  Oh,  it 
was,  taken  all  round,  a  mysterious  war,  full  of 
happenings  that  no  one  can  account  for  or 
explain." 

I  said  that  perhaps  Prussians  (he  is  a  Prussian) 
are  not  so  open  to  supernatural  influences  as  are 
some  other  peoples. 

Then  we  reverted  to  his  remark  that  it  is 
usually  only  women  who  pay  attention  to  tales 
of  the  supernatural.  "  Let  me  tell  you  of  one 
man,  at  any  rate,  who  had  cause  to  take  a  '  ghost  ' 
seriously,"  I  said,  and  related  the  experience  of  a 
colonel  in  the  British  Army,  as  recounted  by  him- 
self, and  not,  I  believe,  yet  published. 

The  colonel  was  awakened  one  night  by  a 
strange  feeling  which  he  could  not  explain.  By 
his  bed  he  saw  a  nun  standing.     Naturally  aston- 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  135 

ished  and  annoyed  at  her  presence,  he  demanded 
how  she  had  managed  to  get  there. 

She,  however,  gave  him  an  evasive  answer  to 
this  question,  and  then  proceeded  calmly  to  tell 
him  that  the  world  deserved  the  War  on  account 
of  its  wickedness  and  godlessness,  and  that 
millions  would  have  to  suffer  much  pain  and  loss 
and  horror,  but  that  in  the  end,  which  was  further 
away  than  people  imagined,  England  and  France 
would  win.  Then  in  some  mysterious  way  she 
vanished. 

Very  much  perturbed  at  this  extraordinary 
incident,  the  colonel  determined  to  visit  a  convent 
which  he  knew  was  not  very  far  away.  In  the 
morning  he  made  his  way  there,  and  asked  to  see 
the  Reverend  Mother.  He  told  her  what  had 
happened,  and  said  that  unless  she  could  guarantee 
that  none  of  her  nuns  would  be  guilty  in  future 
of  such  an  offence,  he  would  have  to  take  strict 
measures,  which  he  would  be  loth  to  do,  to  make 
such  visits  impossible. 

The  Superior  of  the  convent  said  that  she  could 
not  believe  such  a  thing  had  taken  place,  but 
that  she  would  send  for  all  her  Sisters,  and  as  they 
filed  through  the  room  would  he  kindly  point 
out  the  culprit  ?  He  acquiesced,  and  she  led  the 
way  into  the  adjoining  room. 

As  he  entered  he  gave  an  exclamation  of 
surprise.  The  Mother-Superior  turned  and  saw 
him  standing  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  his  eyes 
glued  to  a  picture  of  a  young  and  meek-faced 
nun  which  hung  upon  a  wall.  "  That's  her,"  he 
exclaimed  excitedly  ;  "  that's  the  one  who  came 
to    my    tent    last    night."     The    Mother-Superior 


136  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

turned  to  him,  smiling  strangely,  and  said,  "  Ah, 
she  has  been  dead  for  twenty  years,  M.  le  General." 
It  was  the  picture  of  a  French  girl,  who  died  at 
twenty-two,  in  1895,  and  who  had  entered  the 
convent  at  her  particular  desire  when  she  was 
only  sixteen  years  of  age.  To  the  Catholic  world 
to-day  she  is  known  as  the  "  Little  Flower,"  and 
the  power  of  working  miracles  is  believed  to  be 
hers. 

The  life  of  this  wonderful  girl  ^  is  worth  an 
hour's  study  even  to  the  most  incredulous  and 
busy  among  us.  In  these  days  when  positive 
scepticism  of  all  supernormal  phenomena  is  so 
curiously  mixed  with  a  willingness  to  believe 
almost  anything  without  its  being  vouched  for 
by  serious  and  responsible  people,  the  doings 
of  this  French  child  cannot  help  but  arrest  our 
attention. 

Many  soldiers  of  all  nations  know  her  power 
and  revere  her  in  the  following  terms  :  "  Little 
Sister  of  the  Trenches,"  "  War  Godmother," 
"Warrior's  Chosen  One,"  "Soldier's  Saint," 
"  Soldier's  Shield,"  "  Angel  of  Battles." 

These  lovely  names  remind  us  of  the  soldiers 
of  Jeanne  d'Arc  whom  they  called  by  the  fascinat- 
ing cognomen  of  "  Victory's  Sweetheart." 

In  the  light  of  what  has  happened  since  1914 
it  is  interesting  to  remember  her  words  as  the 
flames  were  greedily  licking  round  her  slim  young 
form.  "  Oh,  Rouen,  Rouen,"  she  called,  "  some 
day  you  will  suffer  for  what  you  are  doing." 

And  so,   as   ever,   the  axiom  of  the  wise  old 

^  See  the  book  Shower  of  Roses,  to  be  obtained  from  the  Carmelite 
Convent,  Lisieux,  France. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  137 

Greek  remains  true— "  The  mills  of  the  gods 
grind  late,  but  they  grind  exceeding  fine." 

The  aide-de-camp  could  not  believe  this  story. 
"  No,  no,"  he  said ;  "  such  things  do  not  happen. 
War  is  a  stern  and  awful  reality." 

In  connection  with  the  above  story  I  suggested 
that  when  men  were  tired  out,  hungry,  overworked, 
and  overstrung  in  every  way — mind  and  body  and 
soul — they  might  think  they  saw,  or  might  even 
really  see,  sights  which  would  be  hidden  from  them 
in  normal  moments.  In  moments  when  the  body 
is  nearly  worn  out  and  the  brain,  on  the  contrary, 
intensely  alert,  I  thought  one  might  be  very  near 
the  border-line,  or,  indeed,  for  some  moments 
beyond  it,  without  tasting  of  physical  death. 

But  he  could  not  see  that  at  all.  Although 
he  had  constantly  been  in  a  state  of  physical 
exhaustion  such  as  I  had  described,  he  had  never, 
lor  one  fleeting  second,  he  said,  had  such  imaginings. 
Anything  he  saw  was  a  solid  reality. 

We  spoke  of  the  ghosts  of  Glamis  and  Cortachy, 
and  the  many  Banshee  tales  with  which  Ireland 
abounds.  But  he  only  laughed,  and  said  there 
were  no  such  stories  current  in  Germany.  I  got 
the  impression  that  he  looked  upon  it  as  a  sort 
of  rather  laughable  weakness  on  our  part  that  we 
should  think  about  such  things  at  all — a  weakness 
due  to  the  infusion  of  Celtic  blood. 

But  although  the  party  at  the  Castle  that  night 
were  very  sceptical  about  the  whole  subject,  a 
fact  which  I  related  to  them  as  being  the  true 
experience  of  a  clair-audient  friend  of  mine  did 
arrest  their  attention,  since  it  had  to  do  with  a 
German  "Fritz "  killed  in  the  early  stage  of  the  War. 
i8 


138  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

My  friend  told  me  she  became  conscious  that 
there  was  a  German  spirit  presence  in  the  room 
she  occupied  in  an  hotel  in  the  North  of  England, 
where  she  was  staying  for  a  few  months.  The 
proprietress  at  first  indignantly  denied  that  any 
German  had  ever  been  in  the  house.  Later,  on 
being  pressed,  she  said  that  before  the  War  a 
German  man  of  business  had  often  had  that  room. 
My  friend,  herself  a  medium,  got  into  direct  com- 
munication with  this  spirit,  who,  among  other 
strange  things,  informed  her  that  he  "  hated  being 
dead."  He  was  young,  apparently,  and  had  been 
cut  off  much  too  soon  from  the  joys  of  life.  And 
now  he  came  to  her  as  being  the  only  one  whom  he 
could  get  into  communication  with,  and  told  her 
that  he  wanted  to  have  news  of  his  wife  and  of 
the  child  which  had  been  born  to  her  just  after 
his  death.  He  gave  his  name  and  the  name  of 
the  town  where  his  wife  lived.  My  friend  had 
never  heard  of  the  town,  but  on  looking  in  a 
gazetteer  she  found  it  was  a  suburb  of  Berlin. 

Captain  von  Ilsemann  said  he  thought  it  a 
remarkable  story,  and  asked  if  any  steps  had  been 
taken  to  find  the  woman  out.  He  thought  he 
had  scored  when  he  found  that  none  had  been. 
We  agreed  that  it  was  the  death  of  youth  which 
had  brought  the  subject  so  much  to  the  fore  lately. 

Perhaps,  as  I  have  been  dealing  with  "  visions," 
I  may  be  permitted  to  recall  an  omen.  In  February 
1914  I  was  at  Port  Said  on  my  way  to  Jerusalem, 
and  while  I  was  in  the  boat  an  Indian  soothsayer 
came  up  to  me  begging  to  tell  my  fortune.  As 
this  is  a  temptation  I  never  can  refuse,  I  acquiesced, 
and  was  immediately  "  rooked  "  of  £2  ! 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  139 

The  soothsayer  squatted  down  and  began  to 
make  cabaHstic  signs  on  the  deck.  Suddenly 
looking  up,  he  said,  in  awestruck  tones,  "  August  ! 
August!  Something  terrible  in  August."  Horrified 
I  asked  whether  something  very  dreadful  was 
going  to  happen  to  me  then. 

But  he  continued,  in  tones  of  scorn,  "  Not  to 
you  !     To  the  world.     Blood,  blood,  in  August  !  " 

And  nothing  else  could  be  got  out  of  him. 

In  connection  with  these  subjects  a  curious 
little  paragraph  may  be  read  in  the  preface  which 
Wilkie  Collins  wrote  to  his  extraordinary  book. 
The  Moonstone^  in  1866.  In  relating  of  the  evil 
attributes  possessed  by  some  precious  stones,  he 
mentioned  that  it  was  a  deeply  rooted  belief  that 
the  large  stone  which  was  set  in  the  sceptre  be- 
longing to  the  Czar  of  Russia  was  a  carrier  of 
bad  luck,  and  that  sooner  or  later  the  power  of 
the  possessor  of  this  stone  would  fall  and  crumble. 

These  words  were  written  more  than  fifty  years 
ago  ! 

During  the  War  much  mystery  at  times  covered 
the  Kaiser's  movements.  I  have  read  in  the 
German  newspapers  lyrical  descriptions  of  his 
ubiquity,  how  one  morning  you  would  hear  of 
him  here,  the  next  hundreds  of  miles  away — 
mysterious,  all-pervading,  untiringly  vigilant,  ever 
the  mainspring  of  grand  plans  on  all  fronts. 

I  asked  his  aide-de-camp  whether  there  was  any 
truth  in  the  story,  widely  circulated  at  one  time, 
that  other  men  had  been  dressed  up  like  the  Kaiser 
and  been  rushed  about  Europe  as  "  decoys  " 
to  keep  the  actual  whereabouts  of  the  War-Lord 
a  secret. 


140  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

"  What  things  people  will  believe  !  "  laughed 
the  aide-de-camp,  as  he  denied  that  there  had  ever 
been  any  decoys. 

Talk  once  turned  to  the  ingenuity  and  daring 
of  Captain  Miiller  of  the  Emden.  I  remarked  that 
so  famous  had  the  voyage  of  Miiller  become  that 
"  Emden  "  was  almost  a  household  word  at  one 
time,  and  that  some  one  had  been  called  "  the 
Emden  "  because  "  she  was  so  fast  and  had  never 
been  caught  yet  "  !  This  was  repeated  at  Doom 
for  the  amusement  of  the  exile. 

That  the  ex-Kaiser  is  a  very  "  temperamental  " 
person  is  well  known.  Nobody  needs  to  be  re- 
minded of  his  long  series  of  "  indiscretions,"  from 
(to  take  only  those  directly  affecting  this  country) 
the  Kruger  telegram  of  1895  to  the  famous  inter- 
view on  Anglo-German  naval  rivalry  in  1908. 
But  how  much  of  these  manifestations  was  due  to 
mere  "  temperament  "  and  how  much  to  calculated 
policy  has  been  a  matter  of  doubt  to  those  who 
have  had  no  opportunities  of  close  observation. 
A  well-known  saying  of  his  was  that  it  was  natural 
to  him  to  trust  people  rather  than  to  mistrust 
them.  My  own  impression  is  that  "  tempera- 
ment "  played  a  larger  part  than  is  generally 
supposed.  A  glance  at  the  uncertainties  of  his 
manner  in  the  reception  of  visitors  during  his 
exile^  may  give  us  a  clue. 

He  may  be  going  to  meet  some  people  with 
whom  he  has  made  up  his  mind  he  will  not  agree. 
Should  their  appearance  and  their  demeanour, 
contrary  to  his  expectation,  please  him  when  he 
speaks  to  them,  he  will  readily  grant  some  request 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  141 

he  had  fully  intended  to  refuse.  A  moment  after 
he  may  regret  that  he  had  committed  himself  to  a 
promise,  and  again  change  his  mind  a  few  hours 
later. 

Prince  Biilow,  for  long  the  Imperial  Chancellor, 
used,  as  a  result  of  studying  his  master's  idiosyn- 
crasies, to  sandwich  his  political  requests  between 
as  many  jokes  as  he  could  collect,  and  by  thus 
diverting  the  Kaiser's  attention,  get  the  kind  of 
answer  he  wanted.  Whether  the  Chancellor  often 
succeeded  in  hoodwinking  his  master,  I  cannot  say, 
but  it  is  certain  that  the  ex-Kaiser  is  extremely 
sensitive  to  personal  impressions  and  thus  very 
variable  in  manner. 

He  may,  for  instance,  have  intended  to  be 
affable  to  visitors,  but  be  put  out  of  humour  by 
some  little  incident  unconnected  with  the  visitors, 
or  by  some  nuance  of  their  manner  displeasing  to 
him,  and  his  whole  behaviour  will  be  cold  and 
abrupt.  Sometimes,  when  he  is  not  pleased,  or 
is  nervous  or  upset,  he  only  gives  two  fingers  when 
he  shakes  hands,  though  his  usual  handshake  is 
cordial. 

He  is,  in  short,  an  impetuous^  highly  strung, 
emotional  man,  suffering  from  restrictions  for 
which  nothing  in  his  previous  life  prepared  him. 
His  powers  were  kept  at  full  working  pitch,  and 
his  intellect  was  stimulated,  when  he  could  rush 
from  one  corner  of  Europe  to  the  other — from 
Norwegian  fjord  to  Grecian  isle — in  company  with 
the  chosen  ones  of  the  earth.  No  one,  perhaps, 
enjoyed  the  pleasures  the  world  holds  for  the 
mighty  as  much  and  as  fully  as  he  did.  Now  he 
feels   the   lack   of   them   proportionately   keenly, 


142  tp'j:  ex-kaiser  in  exile 

and  it  is  understandable  that  the  variableness  of 
temperament  which,  under  the  stimulus  of  select 
intelligences,  is  said  to  have  given  a  certain  vivid 
charm  to  his  personality  in  the  old  days,  should 
appear  a  less  attractive  characteristic  in  the 
absence  of  the  dazzling  accompaniments  of  a  Court. 

Visitors,  generally  speaking,  are  welcomed  at 
Doom  for  the  break  they  afford  in  an  other- 
wise rather  monotonous  existence.  They  must  be 
authorised  visitors,  of  course  ;  he  would  never 
lack  for  callers  if  he  were  an  easily  accessible 
person.  And,  in  spite  of  the  barriers  placed  in 
the  way  of  the  merely  curious,  he  receives  a  fairly 
constant  stream  of  guests. 

The  most  important  of  these  are,  naturally,  his 
sons.  The  ex-Crown  Prince  comes  over  from 
Wieringen  only  at  stated  times.  There  is  no 
privacy  about  these  visits,  which  are  always 
mentioned  in  the  Dutch  Press.  The  opinions  one 
hears  about  him  are  many  and  diverse.  I  was 
told  that  he  was  very  popular  in  the  army,  and 
that  the  soldiers  would  do  anything  for  him. 

In  his  book,  Count  Czernin  mentions  a  conver- 
sation which  he  had  with  him  in  1917  about  a 
possible  Peace,  and  he  says  that  the  Crown  Prince 
promised  to  go  to  Vienna  to  discuss  it  with  the 
Emperor  Karl.  He  never  went,  however,  and 
later,  when  Count  Czernin  met  Ludendorff  in 
Berlin,  the  latter  said  to  him,  "  What  have  you 
been  doing  to  our  Crown  Prince  ?  He  had  got 
quite  slack,  but  we  have  stiffened  him  up  again." 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  said  that  he  was 
always  extremely  warlike.  As  far  as  I  could 
gather,  however,  there  seems  to  be  a  great  differ- 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  143 

ence  in  the  feelings  entertained  by  the  German 
people  for  the  fugitives.  Whereas  the  ex-Kaiser 
is  always  talked  about  and  discussed,  whether  on 
friendly  or  unfriendly  lines,  the  name  of  the 
Crown  Prince  is  never  mentioned.  I  gather  that 
his  character  is  not  admired  by  serious  people  in 
Germany. 

Relations  with  his  father  are  now  more  cordial 
than  they  were.  The  heir  to  a  throne  is  sometimes 
troublesomely  independent,  as  the  ex- Kaiser,  if 
he  takes  a  backward  glance  to  his  own  youth, 
may  remember  ;  but  acute  discords  have  ceased 
with  the  removal  of  the  occasion  of  them.  Their 
views  on  many  general  questions  still  differ,  but 
they  can  discuss  them  amicably.  The  once 
ebullient  Crown  Prince  is  now  considerably  subdued, 
and  his  visits  are  very  quiet  affairs,  spent  almost 
wholly  within  the  grounds  of  Doom. 

But  it  would  seem  that  it  has  taken  two  years 
of  what  is  practically  imprisonment  in  a  doleful 
Dutch  island  to  make  him  thoughtful,  as  becomes 
his  years  and  position.  An  incident,  which  showed 
how  careless  and  haphazard  were  his  ways,  oc- 
curred when  he  came  to  Holland. 

On  the  evening  on  which  he  arrived,  at  the 
end  of  his  flight,  he  drove  up  to  the  house  allotted 
him  for  residence  in  a  fly  hired  from  the  nearest 
posting-house.  It  was  apparently  a  "  dark  and 
stormy  night,"  and  he  and  his  companions  may 
have  been  bewildered  and  tired.  At  any  rate,  he 
was  so  forgetful  of  what  was  in  his  charge — moral 
obligation,  from  what  we  hear,  at  no  time  caused 
the  volatile  prince  serious  inconvenience — that  he 
left  in  the  cab  some  archives  of  the  Royal  House  ! 


144  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

One  can  imagine  his  consternation  when  his 
belongings  came  to  be  sorted  out.  Ultimately  the 
important  documents  were  found,  and  I  dare  say 
were  given  into  the  care  of  more  competent  hands. 

The  other  sons  come  pretty  frequently,  for, 
unlike  their  elder  brother,  they  are  free  to  move 
about  as  they  wish  ;  and  his  daughter,  the  Duchess 
of  Brunswick,  and  her  husband  and  children  are 
the  most  constant,  and  also,  I  may  say,  the  most 
affectionate  of  visitors.  They  may  be  seen  not 
infrequently  in  the  villages  of  Doom  and  Ameron- 
gen,  and  going  to  and  fro  to  the  Bentinck  residences, 
without  any  fuss  or  display,  but  at  their  ease. 
The  little  son,  aged  about  three  years,  of  Prince 
Joachim  (whose  tragic  death  took  place  last 
August  in  Berlin)  spends  a  good  deal  of  time  with 
his  grandparents,  and,  like  all  children,  he  brings 
an  atmosphere  of  gaiety  and  insouciance  to  a 
house  where  the  outlook  is  often  sombre.  The 
ex-Kaiser  delights  in  the  child's  prattle. 

Children  whose  visits  are  looked  forward  to 
are  the  three  lively  boys  whom  the  ex-Crown 
Princess  brings.  Their  mother,  who  is  still  highly 
esteemed  and  popular  in  Germany,  has  very 
sensible  ideas  about  their  upbringing  and  the 
importance  of  a  good  education.  She  is  training 
them  to  be  self-reliant  and  simple  in  their  tastes, 
so  that  they  may  be  able  to  "  fend  for  themselves  " 
whatever  the  future  may  hold  for  them  of  a  high 
destiny  or  an  obscure.  One  has  to  bear  in  mind 
in  this  connection  that  the  ex-Kaiser  renounced 
all  rights  to  the  throne  only  for  himself  ! 

During  their  stays  at  Doom  the  children  spend 
a  good  deal  of  time  at  Amerongen,  where  they 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  145 

may  ride,  motor,  and  row  about  on  the  moats. 
The  last  is  a  particularly  favoured  pastime,  for  it 
is  easy  to  fall  in  the  water  if  the  boats  are  not 
carefully    handled  !     Many    little    mementoes   are 
given  to  the  servants  on  the  conclusion  of  these 
visits,  such  as,  for  example,  a  tobacco-pouch  to 
the  chauffeur  at  Amerongen  from  the  ex-Crown 
Princess.     This,   by  the  way,  was  the  chauffeur 
who  brought  the  exile  from  the  unpleasant  situa- 
tion at  Maarn  Station  to  the  hospitable  atmosphere 
of  Amerongen.     To  his  pride,  the  ex-Kaiser  told 
him  he  was  the  best  driver  he  had  ever  sat  behind 
— the  giving  of  this  encomium  being  one  of  the 
little  ways  in  which  he  showed  his  relief  at  the 
ending  of  his  historic  flight. 

That  reminds  me  that  the  rooms  at  Ameron- 
gen are  full  of  objets  d'art,  which  the  exiles,  in 
gratitude  for  the  hospitality  shown  them,  have 
bestowed  on  their  former  host.  Among  the  many 
presents  to  Count  Godard  Bentinck  are  two 
paintings  of  the  ex-Kaiserin  and  the  ex-Kaiser, 
done  just  before  the  War,  and  a  life-sized  white 
marble  bust,  done  at  the  beginning  of  the  War, 
which  I  mentioned  as  being  very  conspicuous  at 
the  wedding  luncheon-party.  Before  she  left 
Amerongen  the  late  ex-Kaiserin  gave  Count  Godard 
a  finely  chased  gold  box  studded  thickly  with 
diamonds.  Photographs  of  the  ex-Kaiser's  sons 
and  daughter  are  everywhere  to  be  seen,  all  with 
inscriptions  below,  such  as  "  In  eternal  gratitude 
for  all  you  have  done  for  my  parents,"  and  "  We 
can  never  thank  you  enough  for  all  you  have 
done." 

Prince    Henry    of    Prussia,    the    ex-Kaiser's 
19 


146  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

brother,  is  perhaps  the  one  whose  visits  are  most 
eagerly  awaited.     He  comes  often,  though  his  stay 
is  usually  brief.     With  him,  more  than  with  any 
other,   the   ex-Kaiser   enjoys    long   and    intimate 
conversations;   there  is  no  one  closely  associated 
with  him  who  can  keep  him  so  well  informed  of 
the  "  temperature  "  of  Germany.     Prince  Henry 
brings  or  sends  all  the  "  very  latest  "  literature — 
books,  pamphlets,  and  what-not — touching  on  the 
most  important   and   most  minute   developments 
in  the    subjects   which    he    knows   most    deeply 
interest   the   ex-Kaiser — of   which  the   two   chief 
are,   as    I    have    said    before.    Freemasonry    and 
the  Jewish  question.     The  writings  of  Mr.  E.  D. 
Morel,    who    gained   some    notoriety    during  the 
War   as  a   pacifist   journalist   and   lecturer,  were 
also  sent ;  and  the  exile  is  much  interested  in  any- 
thing in  English  that  states  a  case  for  Germany 
and    criticises    English    action   during    and   after 
the  War.     Amongst  others  who  visit  him,  Field- 
Marshal  von  Hindenburg  is   notable  for  his  un- 
swerving attachment  to  the  ex-Emperor.     Some 
highly  placed  men  of  the  old  Empire  are  "  con- 
spicuous by  their  absence  " — a  matter  of  bitter- 
ness to  the  ex-Kaiser — but  to  Hindenburg,  so  far 
as  personal  relations  are  concerned,  the  revolution 
is  as   if   it   had   not   been.     He   remains  gravely 
deferential  to  "  My  King,  my  Emperor,  and  my 
master  "  on  his  visits,  and  the  ex-Kaiser  naturally 
enjoys  this  treatment,  apart  from  the  respect  with 
which  he,  in  accordance  with  all  who  know  him, 
regards   the    sturdy    old    veteran.     He    was    not 
present  at  the  wedding  I  attended,  but  had  sent 
his  regrets  that  he  could  not  give  his  good  wishes 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  147 

in  person  to  the  aide-de-camp,  who  had  once 
been  on  his  staff.  Many  visitors,  whose  stay  is 
brief  and  of  whom  very  Httle  is  heard,  come  and 
go  unobtrusively.  If  they  are  high  mihtary  and 
naval  personages  they  are  not,  at  any  rate,  be- 
trayed by  uniforms.  Since  he  removed  to  his 
wooded  retreat  at  Doom,  the  exile  no  doubt  finds 
it  easier  than  at  Amerongen  to  receive  certain 
guests.  He  naturally  observes  all  the  discretion 
required  of  him  in  his  position,  and  there  is  nothing 
to  show  that  he  has  any  part  in  directing  the 
activities  of  his  adherents  in  Germany  ;  but  it 
would  be  expecting  too  much  of  him  to  refuse 
to  see  occasionally  people  who  were  prominent  in 
his  service  in  the  old  days. 

As  the  nearest  point  of  the  German  frontier  is 
only  about  seventy  miles  away,  former  subjects 
can  come  to  Doom  for  a  few  hours,  on  the  chance 
of  catching  a  glimpse  of  the  exile,  and  return  on 
the  same  day. 

But  it  is  not  only  from  the  Fatherland  that 
guests  arrive.  Many  Dutch  people  also  are  pleased 
to  be  entertained  by  him.  Eating  is,  indeed, 
apart  from  a  necessity,  a  very  useful  invention  ! 
Was  it  not  Talleyrand  (accredited  with  most 
sayings  of  the  sort)  who,  apropos  food,  said, 
"  Tell  me  another  pleasure  which  comes  twice  a 
day  and  lasts  an  hour  each  time  ?  "  Not  that  it 
is  the  food  so  much  as  the  company  which  is  the 
attraction  of  these  parties  to  the  exile. 

An  honoured  visitor  who  came  to  see  the  exile 
soon  after  the  abdication  was  the  abbot  of  a 
leading  Benedictine  monastery  in  Germany.  I 
understood,    but    am    not    certain,    that    he    was 


148  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

the  abbot  of  Maria  Laach,  the  renowned  old 
Bavarian  monastery  (which  dates  from  the  tenth 
century),  where  the  well-known  von  Stotzingen 
was  abbot,  and  where,  before  the  War,  the  ex-Kaiser 
was  a  constant  guest. 

It  was  to  this  renowned  house  that  members  of 
princely  families  would  repair  to  seek  peace  from 
worldly  distractions  if  they  had  a  vocation  for  the 
priesthood  and  an  inclination  towards  monastic  life. 

The  Emperor  (as  he  then  was)  designed  a 
reredos  in  stone  for  the  altar  in  the  church  at 
Maria  Laach.  This,  although  a  fine  thing  in 
itself,  did  not  really  blend  with  the  rest  of  the 
structure  of  the  old  building,  and  so  the  monks 
had  another — a  movable  one — made  to  their  own 
design.  This  was  used  all  the  year  round,  except 
when  the  Emperor  informed  them  of  an  intended 
visit,  and  on  these  occasions  it  was  removed, 
leaving  exposed  the  Emperor's  work  of  art  for  him 
to  see  in  making  a  round  of  the  monastery  !  By 
this  wily  trick  did  the  monks  please  both  them- 
selves and  their  Royal  visitor  ! 

The  exile  has  always  been  greatly  impressed 
by  the  power  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  and, 
when  a  ruler,  was  always  particularly  careful  of 
the  susceptibilities  of  the  very  numerous  and  very 
important  section  of  his  subjects  who  belonged 
to  that  Church.  But  he  is,  of  course,  a  Lutheran, 
and  more  versed  in  Protestant  doctrines.  Thus  a 
frequent  guest  at  Doom  is  the  minister  of  the  Dutch 
Reformed  Church,  of  whom  mention  has  been 
previously  made,  who  lives  at  Utrecht,  and  through 
his  friendship  with  the  Bentinck  family  has  come 
to  know  the  exile  very  well. 


(From    a  picture    by    Mierevelt    at   Amsterdam.) 

WILLIAM  THE  SILENT 

Prince  of  Orange.    Born   1533-    Murdered    1584  by  Balthazar  Gerard 

From   whom  by   his    3rd  wife,    Catherine   de   Bourbon    are   descended  the 

ex-Kaiser  and  his  late  host  Count  Godard  Bentinck. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  149 

I  asked  at  Amerongen  whether  there  was  any 
truth  in  the  reports  that  the  ex-Kaiser  had  com- 
posed an  opera,  painted  a  picture,  written  a  book, 
and  so  on,  but  these  were  laughed  at  as  canards. 
He  is  fond  of  music  and  sufficiently  acquainted 
with  technique  to  be  appreciative,  but  he  is  in  no 
way  a  performer. 

That  an  allegorical  painting  which  pointed  to 
the  necessity  of  the  white  races  uniting  in  face 
of  the  "  Yellow  Peril  "  should  be  attributed  to 
him  is  not  surprising.  He  is  still  perturbed  by 
the  fear  of  a  future  overwhelming  of  Western 
civilisation  by  hordes  from  the  East,  and  often 
touches  on  the  "  neglected  danger  "  in  conversation. 

Another  topic  in  which  he  is  much  interested 
is  that  of  genealogy.  In  this  he  is  not  unique  ! 
His  cult  of  his  ancestors  has  almost  a  Far  Eastern 
fervour,  as  all  may  judge  from  the  famous  "  Sieges 
Alice  "  in  Berlin,  in  which,  with  obvious  pride  if 
not  with  a  fine  discrimination  or  a  fastidious  sense 
of  beauty,  he  has  placed  statues  of  his  ancestors 
representing  them  as  "  heroes." 

One  of  the  ancestors  of  which  he  is  the  proudest 
is  William  the  Silent,  first  Stadtholder  of  the 
Netherlands.  He  was  interested  to  hear  that  his 
former  host  at  Amerongen  could  boast  a  fourfold 
descent  in  the  female  line  from  that  renowned 
leader  also,  by  his  third  wife,  Charlotte  de  Bourbon, 
daughter  of  Louis,  Due  de  Montpensier,  of  the 
Royal  House  of  France. 

He  (Louis)  was  descended  in  the  direct  male 
line  from  Louis  ix.  (St.  Louis)  through  the  latter's 
younger  son,  Robert  de  Clermont. 

Charlotte  was  therefore  a  great-niece  of  Charles 


150  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

de  Bourbon,  Constable  of  France,  who  was  killed 
at  the  famous  Sack  of  Rome  in  1527,  and  belonged 
naturally  to  the  same  family  as  Antoine  de 
Bourbon,  father  of  Henri  iii.  of  Navarre  and  iv. 
of  France  ;  of  Charles  Cardinal  de  Bourbon  and 
of  the  celebrated  Louis  i.,  Prince  de  Conde,  killed 
at  Jarnac  in  1567 — the  famous  and  notorious 
uncles  of  TTenri  iv. 

It  was  through  the  marriage  of  the  aforesaid 
Robert  de  Clermont  with  Agnes,  Princess  of 
Bourbon,  that  the  Bourbon  designation  first  came 
into  the  Capet  family.  So  all  this  man's  descend- 
ants were  de  Bourbon  (of  the  Bourbon  family  — 
showing  what  weight  the  mother's  family  carried 
in  those  days),  and  thus  Henri  iv.  and  Louis  de 
Montpensier  (Charlotte's  father)  were  descendants 
directly  of  the  Bourbon  marriage. 

Charlotte,  as  a  baby,  had  been  sent  to  be  brought 
up  by  her  aunt,  who  was  abbess  of  the  rich  abbey 
of  Jouarre.  There,  it  is  said,  for  political  reasons, 
she  was  forced  to  become  a  nun  at  the  age  of 
twelve.  At  the  age  of  eighteen,  however,  she  drew 
up  a  document,  attested  by  witnesses,  repudiating 
the  vows  which  she  had  made  against  her  will. 
She  then  left  the  abbey  and  went  to  live  at  Heidel- 
berg with  her  relation,  the  Elector  Palatine,  and 
his  wife.  This  Court  was  the  centre  of  Huguenot 
sympathy  ;  all  her  near  relations,  on  the  other 
hand,  were  on  fire  for  the  Catholic  cause. 

William  the  Silent  seems  to  have  first  seen  her 
a  few  days  after  her  escape  from  the  convent. 
Three  years  later  he  resolved  to  marry  her  !  He 
was  forty-two  and  had  been  twice  married,  his 
second  wife   having  been  repudiated   by  him  on 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  151 

the  score  of  madness  seven  years  previously. 
Charlotte  was  twenty-five,  and  had  been  a  nun 
until  her  eighteenth  year. 

Round  their  marriage  raged  one  of  the  most 
furi'  as  family  and  religious  feuds  known  in 
domestic  history.^  In  the  face  of  the  profound 
disgust  and  criticism  of  nearly  every  faction  in 
Europe,  William  nevertheless  carried  out  his  desire 
and,  in  1575,  married  her. 

They  were,  indeed,  a  strangely  assorted  pair  ! 
She,  a  Catholic,  a  French  princess,  and  a  renegade 
nun ;  he,  born  a  Lutheran  and  a  German  count, 
brought  up  a  Catholic  in  the  Court  of  Spain,  became 
by  inheritance  a  Flemish  magnate  and  a  sovereign 
prince,  ultimately  died  a  Calvinist  at  the  hand  of 
a  fanatical  Catholic. 

But  as  the  years  went  by  hostility  died  down. 
As  a  wife  she  was  an  immense  success  and  very 
happy.  Her  Protestant  relations  warmly  sup- 
ported her,  and  she  was  eventually  reconciled  to 
her  father  and  the  Catholic  princes  of  Europe. 

Plainly  the  form  was  not  legal,  but  they  were 
still  too  near  the  Reformation  for  any  proper 
procedure  for  the  legal  dissolution  of  marriages  to 
have  been  drawn  up.  Moreover,  his  second  wife, 
Anne  of  Saxony,  was  unnormal  to  what  was  virtu- 
ally insanity  ;  she  had  dishonoured  her  husband 
numberless  times,  and  was  notorious  all  through 
Europe  for  her  infamous  character. 

In  the  year  following  the  marriage  of  William 
and  Charlotte,  a  daughter  was  born  to  them,  whom 
they   named   Louise   Juliana.     She    is   the   direct 

1  For  facts  I  referred  to  William  the  Silent,  by  Mr.  Frederick 
Harrison. 


152  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

ancestress  of  the  House  of  Hanover  and  of  nearly 
all  the  Royal  Houses  of  Europe. 

Queen  Victoria  was  the  nearest  to  her  in  descent, 
and  may  I  be  permitted  to  say  that  my  children  are 
eleventh  in  descent  from  this  most  unconventional 
and  unfanatical  of  men  by  his  Bourbon  wife. 

In  whatever  light  one  criticises  him  it  cannot 
be  said  that  the  "game  was  not  worth  the  candle." 
His  aims  and  his  ideals  were  not  misplaced, 
and  four  hundred  years  later  the  substantial  proof 
of  his  wisdom  can  be  seen  in  the  Holland  of 
to-day  splendidly  ruled  by  a  woman  whose  father 
was  the  last  male  descendant  of  the  House  of 
Orange-Nassau. 

The  pedigrees  I  give  on  the  opposite  page  show 
the  manner  in  which  William  ii.,  ex-German 
Emperor,  and  his  host,  Count  Godard  Bentinck, 
are  descended  from  the  great  Stadtholder. 

The  Emperor  entered  into  the  whole  life  of  the 
Castle  very  fully,  as  the  following  little  incident 
shows.  Every  winter  the  Rhine  rises  considerably, 
but  last  year  ^  the  floods  were  worse  than  "  the 
oldest  inhabitant "  could  remember,  and  the  whole 
country  for  miles  was  under  water ;  even  the 
highest  dikes  were  threatened  with  complete 
immersion.  A  burgomaster  in  a  neighbouring 
village  was  drowned  through  falling  off  a  flooded 
road  in  the  dark  into  the  deep  water  at  the  sides. 

The  danger  was  serious, — ^how  serious  only 
those  who  live  in  a  low-lying  country  like  Holland 
can  realise, — so  every  available  person  in  and 
outside  the  house  at  Amerongen  had  to  work  at 
the  pumps  and  help  to  build  up  the  outside  dike 

^  1919-20. 


(Photo,  by  Corn pt on  Collier.) 


LADY  NORAH  BENTINCK 

With  her  children  Brydgytte  Blanche  aged  3A,  and  Henry  Noel 
aged   10  months  (1920). 


_ 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  153 

(round  the  outer  moat)  with  faggots.  In  this  work 
the  ex-Kaiser  joined  with  zest.  Sometimes,  no 
doubt  from  habit,  he  gave  orders  which — incident- 
ally— were  not  always  obeyed.  For  weeks  no  one 
could  go  anywhere  except  in  a  boat,  and  I  believe 
that,  notwithstanding  every  one's  strenuous  efforts, 
some  water  did  penetrate  the  lower  part  of  the 
Castle. 

The  framework  of  the  rooms  in  which  the  ex- 
Kaiser  lived  at  Amerongen  are,  curiously  enough, 
of  German  wood.  When,  in  1672,  Louis  xiv. 
stayed  at  Amerongen,  the  owner.  Baron  Godard 
de  Reede  Ginkel,  was  Dutch  Ambassador  to  the 
"  Great  Elector  "  of  Brandenburg  (father  of  the  first 
King  of  Prussia),  and  was  in  Germany  intriguing 
against  the  French  king  living  in  his  house ! 
This  enraged  Louis  so  much  that,  when  leaving 
the  place,  he  ordered  French  troops  quartered  at 
Utrecht  to  set  fire  to  the  building.  This  they  did 
most  thoi'oughly,  filling  the  house  with  faggots. 

When  the  Elector  heard  of  his  friend's  loss  he 
sent  him  eight  hundred  enormous  oaks  from  his 
forests  round  Berlin  to  help  in  rebuilding  the 
house. 

The  ex-Kaiser's  eyes  shone  when  he  was  told 
this.  "  So,  anyhow,  my  trees  and  my  river  didn't 
desert  me,"  he  remarked — the  latter  part  an 
allusion  to  the  fact  that  the  moats  are  filled  from 
the  Rhine. 


lO 


CHAPTER  IX 

"  Full  of  misery  is  the  mind  anxious  about  the  future." 

Seneca. 

At  Doom  beats  the  heart  that  was  Germany  ; 
for  in  the  old  days  no  one  could  think  of  Germany 
without  the  Emperor  or  of  the  Emperor  without 
Germany.  Will  the  ex-Kaiser  again  be  the  heart 
of  Germany  ?  If  he  does  not  return,  will  some 
other  Hohenzollern  become  head  of  the  old  Empire 
or  at  least  of  the  Prussian  State  ?  From  Doom 
he  is  watching  events. 

He  would  not  be  human  if  he  did  not  dream  of 
a  future  restoration,  if  not  for  himself  at  least 
for  his  House.  But  he  would  not  be  politic  if  he 
showed  himself  to  be  striving  to  make  any  such 
dream  a  reality,  or  even  to  be  "  thinking  ahead  " 
in  preparation  for  a  "  coup  "  at  a  propitious 
moment.  Therefore,  whether  he  be  merely  dream- 
ing and  drifting,  or  is  actively  planning,  he  naturally 
does  not  disclose.  And  his  entourage,  while  ready 
to  discuss  the  War,  its  origin  and  many  of  its  conse- 
quences, from  a  point  of  view  exactly  opposite  to 
the  British,  are  dumb  regarding  the  future  of  the 
Hohenzollerns  ;  the  subject  is  taboo  outside  the 
walls  of  Doom.  But  still  there  are  many  little 
indications  given  of  the  point  of  view  taken  there. 

First  of  all,  there  is  the  phrase  which  I  heard 
several   times   when   I   was   at    Amerongen   that 

164 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  155 

"  England  has  won  the  War  but  has  lost  the  Peace." 
That  sounds  portentous,  and  is  at  any  rate  con- 
solatory to  the  defeated  ;  but  I  could  not  find  out 
that  more  was  meant  than  that  the  "  economic 
consequences  "  of  the  War  would  be  disappointing 
to  the  victors  and  that  the  political  rearrangement 
of  Europe  was  quite  unstable. 

The  ex-Kaiser  thinks  that  the  men  who  drew 
up  the  Versailles  Peace  Treaty  were  not  sufficiently 
experienced  to  pretend  to  deal  with  the  stupendous 
problems  that  came  before  them.  It  was,  in  his 
view,  more  than  could  be  expected  of  human 
beings  that  they  should  be  able  in  a  few  months  to 
rearrange,  with  any  prv^^pect  of  their  scheme  being 
permanent,  a  Europe  whose  centralised  and  highly 
efficient  organisations  in  1914  were  the  outcome 
not  only  of  the  work  of  a  succession  of  nineteenth- 
century  nation-builders  but  of  centuries  of  evolu- 
tion. Germany,  with  its  many  millions  of  capable 
people  welded  into  a  nation,  was  bound  to  remain 
a  great  European  Power  drawing  lesser  States  into 
its  orbit,  and  the  attempts  he  thought  were  made 
to  put  artificial  barriers  in  her  way  could  only  fail 
sooner  or  later.  From  all  I  heard,  I  feel  sure  he 
would  agree  with  the  neat  epigram  of  the  cynic 
that  "  The  War  to  end  war  has  been  followed  by  a 
Peace  to  end  peace." 

One  wonders  what  scheme  he  and  his  advisers 
would  have  offered  at  the  Conference  table  had 
it  been  the  fate  of  the  Central  Powers  rather  than 
that  of  the  Allies  to  sit  there  ! 

It  is  so  much  easier  to  criticise  than  to  act ; 
to  pull  down  than  to  build  up. 

The  League  of  Nations,  in  his  opinion,  so  far  as 


156  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

it  is  not  a  disguised  anti-German  alliance  in  the  old 
style,  is  merely  attempting  to  put  into  practice  a 
very  old  and  very  unsuccessful  European  idea — 
and  Leagues  are  discussed,  from  that  projected 
by  Henri  Quatre  down  to  the  Holy  Alliance  of 
a  hundred  years  ago,  to  show  the  futility  of  the 
project.  As  an  ideal  it  is  attractive ;  as  a 
working  proposition  it  is  impracticable. 

It  is  another  name  for  the  Balance  of  Power 
which  Henri  iv.  and  Sully  had  in  their  heads 
when  they  proposed  having  a  Republique  tres 
Chretienne  in  Europe. 

This  idea  underlay  the  arrangements  of  the 
Treaty  of  Westphalia  in  1648  to  check  the  power  of 
the  Hapsburgs.  Nearly  a  century  later  it  led  to 
the  European  coalition  against  the  aggressions  of 
Louis  XIV.  at  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht  in  1713. 

A  hundred  years  after  this  it  peeped  out  again 
at  the  Vienna  Conference  in  trying  to  set  legislation 
in  motion  which  would  make  another  Napoleon 
impossible.  It  led  to  the  coalition  of  Britain, 
France,  Sardinia,  and  Turkey  against  Russia,  which 
resulted  in  the  Crimean  War  in  1854. 

The  Balance  of  Power  idea  was  again  operative 
in  the  Berlin  Congress  in  1878,  which  tried  to 
regulate  the  affairs  of  the  Balkans. 

Later  it  was  the  basis  for  the  alliance  of  Ger- 
many, Austria,  and  Italy  as  opposed  to  that  of 
France  and  Turkey.  Since  its  existence  as  a 
kingdom  in  1830  the  neutrality  of  Belgium  has 
been  a  principle  of  European  public  law.  On  its 
violation  the  "  Great  European  War  "  broke  out. 
Since  then  the  League  of  Nations  idea  was 
given   birth  to  by  an  American  citizen   born  in 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  157 

England.  Those  who  live  will  see  whether  it 
succeeds  in  its  noble  aims.  But  it  seems  that 
neither  men's  minds  nor  their  bodies  can  keep 
still  for  very  long.  Roughly  speaking,  Wars  and 
Heresies  come  every  hundred  years  or  so. 

It  is  to  be  expected  that  sooner  or  later  there 
will  be  restored  a  Germany  seeking  for  power  on 
the  old  lines,  and  the  ex-Kaiser  holds  that  the 
country  will  then  need  Prussia  and,  above  all,  a 
Hohenzollern  to  guide  her  in  her  efforts  to  regain 
the  position  which  she  held  in  1914. 

One  of  Goethe's  characters  remarked  that,  "  It 
is  so  sweet  to  reign  "  ("  Es  ist  so  siiss  zu  herschen  "). 
One  wonders  whether  William  ii.  would  agree 
with  this  1 

From  all  one  hears  to-day,  it  is  not  the  Mon- 
archical idea  that  the  bulk  of  the  German  people 
object  to,  but  the  excessive  Military  one. 

The  Austrian  friend  with  whom  I  stayed  in 
Vienna  happened  to  be  related  to  the  German 
Royal  family.  She  often  remarked  to  me,  with 
an  amused  little  "  moue,"  in  answer  to  my  com- 
ments on  the  charm  of  the  Viennese,  "  Yes,  they 
are  delightful,  but  it  is  my  Hohenzollern  blood 
that  gives  me  all  my  energy  and  go  1  "  That  is 
the  view  of  the  exile's  entourage  also — Prussia  is 
the  "  Push  and  Go  "  of  Germany. 

It  would  be  tactless  to  suggest  at  Doom  that  the 
War,  with  its  catastrophic  end  for  Germany,  was 
the  result  of  Hohenzollern  guidance,  accompanied 
by  a  strong  "  Push  "  from  Prussia  ! 

It  is  worth  while,  after  tracing  thus  far  the  lines 
of  thought  at  Doom,  to  note  the  prospects  the  new 
Constitution    offers    to    a    Hohenzollern.     A    first 


158  THE  EX-K:aISER  IN  EXILE 

significant  fact  is  that  it  is  possible  for  the  President 
of  the  Republic  to  be  of  Royal  birth  ;  Berlin  has 
not  to  look  far  abroad  or  far  back  to  know  that  a 
republic  in  such  circumstances  may  be  induced  by 
a  bold  President  to  become  a  monarchy.  Then, 
to  quote  from  the  Quarterly  Review's  analysis  :  * 

"  The  sovereign  power  is  divided  between  the 
President  and  the  Reichstag,  each  being  elected 
by  the  whole  body  of  the  German  people  voters. 
The  President  is  thus  placed  in  a  very  autocratic 
position.  ...  In  the  range  of  his  executive 
authority  he  outdoes  the  Kaiser,  for  he  exercises, 
in  addition  to  supreme  Imperial  control,  a  very 
large  authority  which,  under  the  Imperial  system, 
was  vested  in  the  State  Governments  of  Germany. 
He  is  elected  for  seven  years,  is  eligible  at  the 
end  of  that  term  for  re-election,  and  is  responsible 
only  to  the  German  people.  .  .  .  Furthermore,  the 
President  of  the  Republic  is  Commander-in-Chief 
of  the  Army.  It  is  clear  that  a  short  step  would 
in  conceivable  circumstances  convert  his  office  into 
a  monarchy." 

One  can  see  the  bearing  on  this  situation  of 
the  results  of  the  Prussian  Diet  elections  of  20th 
February,^  and  the  consolations  and  hopes  these 
offer  to  the  exile  of  Doom.  The  purely  mon- 
archical party  increased  its  total  of  votes  from 
102,000  in  January  1919  to  169,000,  and  the  non- 
Socialist  parties,  who  include  very  many  half- 
avowed  and  very  many  undisguised  monarchists, 
had  a  combined  poll  of  442,000  in  February,  as 
compared    with     359,000     last     year,     while    the 

*  January  1921. 
2  1921. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  159 

Socialist  vote  fell  in  the  same  time  from  619,000 
to  519,000.  The  monarchist  party's  cry  was  "  A 
strong  party  under  the  Hohenzollerns  "  ;  and  it 
is  difficult  to  see  any  essential  difference  from  that 
in  the  views  of  two  of  the  leading  orators  of  the 
(German  People's  Party  (group  of  Hugo  Stinnes,  the 
multi-millionaire),  such  as  Dr.  Borlitz,  a  high  school 
professor  who  fervently  preaches  that  "  the  Empire 
can  only  be  founded  on  the  Kaiser  idea,  which  still 
slumbers  in  the  hearts  of  the  be3t  of  the  German 
people,"  and  Professor  Brandi,  who  swears  that 
"  all  the  greatness  of  Prussia  comes  from  the 
dynasty."  I  have  mentioned  that  the  Berlin 
Kreuz  Zeitung  is  much  appreciated  at  Doom.  It 
is  easy  to  judge  of  the  tonic  effect  on  the  exile  of 
the  reinstatement  in  that  newspaper  of  its  old 
motto,  "  Forward,  with  God  for  King  and  Father- 
land !  "  which  device  it  used  at  those  elections  for 
the  first  time  since  the  Revolution. 

A  distinction  possibly  may  have  to  be  made 
between  the  ex-Kaiser's  hopes  for  himself  and 
those  for  his  House.  When  I  was  in  Holland,  and 
especially  on  my  first  visit  in  February  1919,  his 
own  professed  desire  was  to  sink  into  privacy. 
He  hoped  a  thick  curtain  would  fall  behind  him 
when  he  passed  the  friendly  portals  of  Amerongen. 
The  observed  of  all  observers,  as  he  had  contrived 
to  be  for  most  of  his  life,  was  to  become  the 
Recluse,  the  Silent  One  of  Europe. 

He  may  shrink  from  public  gaze  now,  but  in 
February  1919  he  positively  courted  obscurity. 
Some  people  may  think  that  he  cannot  possibly 
overcome  the  delight  in  publicity  that  was  so 
obvious  before   the  War,  and  that  he  still  finds 


160  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

satisfaction  in  constant  allusions  to  his  doings  in 
the  Press.  That  would  be  a  mistaken  idea.  The 
less  he  sees  his  name  mentioned  the  better  he  is 
pleased  ;  the  references  to  him  have  been  usually 
too  wounding  for  his  peace  of  mind. 

At  my  first  visit  ^  the  question  whether  or  not 
he  should  be  tried  before  an  international  tribunal 
was  then  uppermost  in  the  public  mind.  At  that 
moment  the  world  was  overcome  with  grief  for 
the  millions  of  homes  ruined  and  lives  broken. 
The  British  general  election  had  just  concluded, 
amid  resounding  cries  of  "  Hang  the  Kaiser  I  " 
The  Paris  Conference  was  solemnly  debating  the 
method  by  which  he  might  be  brought  before  a 
tribunal,  and  the  place  at  which  he  might  be  tried. 

Only  the  quiet  voice  of  Lord  Robert  Cecil  was 
not  heard  in  the  uproar,  who  said  in  an  interview 
with  the  London  correspondent  of  the  Echo  de  Paris 
(16th  November  1918)  that  the  extradition  of  the 
Kaiser  could  not  legally  be  demanded,  but  it 
might  be  requested  as  a  favour. 

I  am  often  asked  whether  the  ex-Kaiser  ex- 
pected that  he  would  be  tried.  As  far  as  I  could 
gather,  he  thought  it  highly  improbable,  but 
nevertheless  a  possibility. 

But  however  confident  he  may  have  been 
that  his  life,  at  any  rate,  was  not  in  danger  from  a 
trial,  understanding,  as  he  did,  what  the  laws  of 
extradition  are,  it  was  impossible  that  he  should 
not  feel  nervous  at  times.  The  suspense  was  long. 
Until  March  1920  the  result  of  the  Allies'  demand 
to  Holland  for  his  extradition  was  an  open  ques- 
tion.    During  all  that  time  the  British  and  French 

*  February  1919. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  161 

newspapers  were  insistent  in  the  demand  that  he 
should  be  punished,  the  Dutch  were  full  of  the 
pros  and  cons  of  the  dispute,  and  the  Germans 
were  closely  attentive.  There  was  no  day  on 
which  he  could  escape  the  question. 

If  for  nothing  else  but  for  its  effect  on  the 
ex-Kaiserin  he  would  have  suffered.  To  the  strain 
she  then  underwent  is  attributed  her  breakdown. 
But  apart  from  that,  as  he  is  a  highly  impression- 
able man,  he  underwent  acute  mental  distress 
from  the  consciousness  that  periodic  waves  of 
detestation  of  him  were  passing  over  the  world. 

He  professed  not  to  be  able  to  fathom  the 
reason  for  the  English  persistence  in  demanding 
his  punishment — ^the  English  whose  friendship  he 
had  so  much  enjoyed. 

"  Why  do  they  hate  me  so  ?  Why  do  the 
English  hate  me  so  ?  "  he  would  often  ask  Count 
Godard  Bentinck. 

Count  Godard  repeated  the  words  to  me.  I 
answered,  "  But  people  in  England  hold  him  to 
be  responsible  not  only  for  starting  the  War  but 
for  instigating  the  worst  atrocities.  They  say  they 
have  proof  that  all  the  horrors  of  Belgium  were 
arranged  before  the  War.  They  will  never  forget 
the  terrible  conditions  under  which  British  prisoners 
suffered  in  Germany.  Neither  can  they  get  over 
the  sinking  of  the  Lusitania  nor  the  shooting  of 
Miss  Cavell.  They  demand  that  he  who  was  at  the 
head  of  the  Army  and  was  ready  enough  to  take  his 
soldiers'  and  sailors'  glory  should  equally  take  their 
shamed 

Count  Godard  repeated  my  words  to  the  ex- 
Kaiser.     The  exile  looked  horrified,  and  said  he 


162  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

had  no  idea  that  that  was  what  was  thought. 
"  How  can  people's  minds  invent  such  horrors,  or 
think  I  would  instigate  or  connive  at  them  ?  "  he 
asked. 

Apparently  his  standpoint  is  that  he  did  not 
invent  war,  that  it  always  is  and  must  be  accom- 
panied by  blunders  and  cruelties,  and  that  these 
were  more  numerous  than  previously  because  the 
War  was  on  such  a  gigantic  scale  and  involved 
civilians  to  an  extent  unprecedented  for  centuries. 
Also  the  conscience  of  civilisation,  after  a  long 
spell  of  peace,  was  more  acutely  conscious  of  the 
hideous  side  of  war.  One  does  not  expect  to 
find  sensitiveness  over-developed  in  a  man  who 
told  recruits,  as  the  ex-Kaiser  did,  that  if  he 
ordered  it  they  might  have  to  fire  on  their  fathers. 
I  think,  however,  that  in  spite  of  protestations 
that  atrocity  charges  were  inventions,  he  would 
himself,  though  unlikely  to  admit  it,  be  conscious 
of  the  justice  of  the  remark  made  to  me  by  an 
officer  who  was  with  the  German  Army  in 
Belgium  during  the  first  few  weeks  of  the  War, 
and  therefore  at  almost  the  worst  "  atrocity " 
period.  This  man  told  me  that,  while  he  had 
himself  seen  the  German  troops  provoked  by  the 
civilian  population  to  a  very  high  degree,  and  he 
considered  there  was  exaggeration  in  the  charges 
brought  against  the  soldiery,  he  nevertheless 
thought  that  the  German  was  more  brutal  and 
coarse-fibred  when  excited  by  war  and  all  its 
horrible  accompaniments  than  was  the  average 
Englishman. 

Another  question  that  I  am  asked  is  whether 
or  not  the  exile  is  writing  his  memoirs,  as  report 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  163 

occasionally  has  it.  There  was  no  sign  that  he 
was  composing  an  apologia,  though  probably  data 
was  being  collected  and  arranged.  He  is  not  an 
old  man,  and  no  one  can  tell  what  the  future  holds 
for  him. 

If  the  German  people  wished  it,  and  had  he 
enough  power  behind  him,  one  does  not  see  what 
there  would  be  to  stqp  his  return  to  Germany. 
For  the  present,  however,  "  dignified  silence  "  is  to 
be  preserved. 

Had  Professor  Schiemann  been  alive,  he  would 
doubtless  have  been  the  person  to  prepare  the 
official  "  Life,"  so  much  was  he  trusted  by  the 
Kaiser.  One  wonders  how  much  that  professor's 
report  on  his  visit  to  Ireland  a  few  weeks  before 
war  broke  out  had  to  do  with  the  impression  in 
German  official  circles  that  England  was  too  much 
entangled  with  Irish  affairs  to  intervene  on  the 
Continent.* 

The  situation  in  Ireland  is  very  freely  discussed 
at  Doom,  and  England's  management  of  the 
sister  isle  is  much  criticised,  not  to  say  jeered  at. 
"  England  wants  to  tell  the  whole  of  Europe 
how  to  govern  itself,"  they  say.  "  She  is  an 
ideahst  abroad  on  the  subject  of  autonomy  for 
the  smaller  States,  ignoring,  when  she  is  not 
concerned,  the  fact  that  self-government  for  little 
countries — especially  on  the  Continent,  where 
frontiers  are  seldom  a  geographical  safeguard — 
may  seriously  affect  the  military,  commercial,  and 

1  Since  these  words  were  written  a  book  emanating  from  Doom 
and  dated  September  1920  has  appeared  in  England,  the  pubhshers 
being  Messrs.  Hodder  &  Stoughton.  It  is  dedicated  to  twelve 
German  generals  by  the  ex-Kaiser,  and  it  is  accompanied  by  a 
booklet  written  by  the  late  Professor  Schiemann. 


164  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

political  situation  of  the  large,  and  therefore 
cannot  lightly  be  granted." 

An  interesting  fact  in  the  above  connection 
is  that  the  de  Reede  Ginkel  who  became  Earl  of 
Athlone,  who  was  prominent  at  the  Battle  of  the 
Boyne  and  was  largely  responsible  for  subjugating 
Ireland  with  Dutch  William  iii.,  was  the  owner  of 
Amerongen  and  Middachten. 

Round  the  hall  in  the  latter  house  (now  in 
the  possession  of  Count  Bentinck)^  are  pictures 
representing  warlike  scenes  in  the  conquest  of 
Ireland.  In  the  village  at  Middachten  there  is  an 
inn  which  bears  the  name  of  "  Arms  of  Athlone  " 
in  Dutch  ("  Wappen  van  Athlone  "). 

The  name  of  Orange,  however,  will  always  be 
fraught  with  sinister  memories  for  Irishmen,  with 
the  exception,  naturally,  of  the  dwellers  in  the 
north. 

England  (which  at  Doom  is  called  "  Ew^dand," 
narrow  land — the  word  Eng  in  German  meaning 
narrow)  is  closely  watched. 

I  was  questioned  with  pointed  interest  about 
coal  and  railway  strikes  of  1919 — an  interest  which  I 
felt  was  akin  to  that  illustrated  in  the  saying  that 
not  even  one's  best  friends  are  wholly  displeased 
at  one's  ill-fortune  !  They  look  to  the  strikes  in 
England  as  sure  forerunners  of  revolution,  and 
never  cease  to  wonder  why  Bolshevism  has  never 
yet  broken  out  badly  in  England.  Perhaps  the 
reason  may  be  found  in  the  dirge-like  account 
given  to  an  Englishman  by  one  of  the  Bolshevik 
leaders  in  Moscow,  who  said  that  England  could 
never  be  stirred  up  to  real  Bolshevism  because 

^  Eldest  son  of  my  father-in-law's  second  brother. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  165 

the  people  were  all  too  polite  to  each  other  and 
that  there  one  never  saw  scowling  faces. 

When  I  told  them  at  Amerongen  that  well- 
known  men  had  driven  expresses  and  worked  as 
guards  and  porters,  and  that  their  wives  and 
daughters  had  undertaken  to  distribute  the  milk 
in  London,  they  were  extremely  surprised.  A 
man  who  had  been  in  the  German  Army  said  to 
me,  "  German  people  in  the  same  class  would 
never  have  done  that."  A  democratic  aristocracy 
seems  to  be  unintelligible  to  them. 

Count  Hermann  Keyserling,  author  of  the 
Diary  of  a  Philosopher  and  a  great  admirer  of  many 
things  English,  refers  to  the  difference  which  exists 
in  English  and  German  aristocracy.  He  notes 
the  self-reliance  of  the  English  as  being  much  in 
their  favour,  and  it  is  said  that  he  has  started  a 
school  in  Darmstadt  where  he  inculcates  his  ideas 
on  upbringing  into  boys  of  good  family .^ 

1  Mr.  Dent  in  The  AthencBum. 


CHAPTER  X 

"  Mad  world,  mad  kings." — King  Richard  u. 

People  constantly  ask,  "  Is  the  Kaiser  mad  ?  " 
They  add,  "  If  not  mad,  then  he  must  be  very 
bad."  Many  insist  that  he  is  both.  Put  that 
way,  it  is  a  difficult  question  to  answer.  If  I  were 
asked,  "Is  he  obsessed  ?  "  I  could  unhesitatingly 
answer  "  Yes." 

But  is  he  mad  in  the  sense  that  the  ruin  of  his 
empire  and  his  dethronement  have  overthrown 
what  mental  balance  he  had  ?  I  would  answer, 
No. 

Is  he  mad  in  the  sense  that,  as  some  people 
suppose,  he  is  haunted,  to  the  exclusion  of  all 
else,  by  the  thought  of  his  own  personal  responsi- 
bility for  the  devastation  and  woe  brought  to  the 
world  by  the  War  ?     Not  at  all. 

Has  he  fallen  a  victim  to  what  is  called  "  re- 
ligious melancholia  "  ?  Has  he  lost  grip  on 
financial  affairs  ?  Is  he  a  prey  to  baseless  alarms 
about  his  health  ?  So  far  as  I  can  learn  the 
answer  is  No. 

In  short,  though  he  is  a  much  more  subdued 
and  much  more  bewildered  mortal,  he  is  about  as 
much  or  as  little  "  mad,"  in  the  ordinary  sense, 
as  he  was  before  the  War. 

Horace  said  that  "  he  held  all  men  to  be  mad." 
Lesser  mortals  may  be  excused  for  thinking  that 

166 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  167 

he  was  unduly  pessimistic  !  But  it  will  be  agreed 
that  to  have  complete  sanity  is  to  have  perfect 
poise  in  every  department  of  the  brain,  to  have 
perfect  balance  and  perfect  control.  Who  would 
suggest  that  the  ex -Kaiser  approached  that 
ideal  ? 

His  environment  from  birth  until  November 
1918  must  have  made  it  well-nigh  impossible  for 
him  even  to  have  as  much  balance  as  an  ordinary 
man.  History  has  shown  us  examples  of  rulers 
without  a  vestige  of  vanity  in  them,  men  who  felt 
it  was  their  duty  to  serve  the  State  not  to  use  it 
for  their  personal  advantage,  men  whom  even  the 
adulation  accorded  to  William  ii.  from  his  cradle 
upwards  could  not  have  affected.  But  the  ex- 
Kaiser  had  not  their  strong  heads.  He  was 
naturally,  I  think,  a  vain  man — one  who  preferred 
the  glass  coach  to  all  other  modes  of  conveyance. 

His  vanity,  it  might  be  supposed,  could  not 
become  greater  in  after  years  than  it  was  in  the 
beginning  of  his  reign.  But  it  did  not  visibly 
grow  less.  It  was  fed  to  distension  by  the 
delusion  that  "  L'etat,  c'est  moi  !  "  He  was, 
first  of  all,  in  his  own  opinion,  the  most  gifted 
and  the  most  important  person  in  Germany. 
If  Germany  could  become  the  most  important 
country,  so  would  he  be  the  most  important  person 
in  the  world.  The  advancement  of  Germany 
became  indistinguishable  from  his  own  glorifica- 
tion. And  this  vanity  was  counted  a  virtue, 
instead  of  a  weakness.  There  were  never 
flatterers  wanting  to  declare  that  it  was  to  his 
discerning  guidance,  to  his  dynamic  impulsion, 
that  the  growth  of  the  country's  power  was  due. 


168  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

Those  who  did  not  flatter  had  small  chance  of  being 
heard. 

When  he  visited  Kiel  the  prelude  to  the 
speeches  made  by  Prince  Henry  of  Prussia  were : 
"  Exalted  Emperor,  Puissant  King  and  Master, 
Illustrious  Brother,  our  sublime,  mighty,  and  be- 
loved Kaiser,  King  and  Emperor,  for  all  time,  for 
ever  and  ever — Hurrah,  hurrah,  hurrah  !  "  And 
he  was  allowed  to  say  such  things  as  :  "  There 
is  only  one  law,  my  law,  the  law  which  I  myself 
lay  down,"  and  "  If  I  order  you  to  shoot  down 
your  parents,  your  brothers  and  sisters,  you  are 
to  do  so." 

Naturally  in  times  of  great  public  up- 
heavals or  of  revolution  such  desperate  measures 
might  have  to  be  used,  but  one  imagines  that  the 
Kaiser — ^the  father  of  his  people — would  not  care 
to  refer  lightly  to  this  awful  power. 

Accustomed  to  such  modes  of  address,  and 
having  these  ideas,  then,  how  does  it  come  that  he 
has  not  become  mad  in  the  ordinary  sense,  when, 
instead  of  appearing  to  be  himself  the  State,  or, 
at  least,  the  personification  of  it,  he  finds  himself 
an  outcast,  seeking  safety  in  obscurity,  and  an 
object  of  execration  for  most  of  the  world  ?  If  he 
really  believed  himself  to  be  mighty  in  himself, 
how  could  his  mind  support  the  brutal  disillusion- 
ment ? 

The  answer  would  be  that  he  can  still  imagine 
he  was  the  fly  that  made  the  wheel  go  round.  He 
is  off  the  wheel  ;  and  is  it  going  round  ?  He  can 
point  to  post-Revolution  Germany  and  triumphantly 
ask  that  question.  Everything  is  in  a  worse  con- 
dition thnn  in  old  autocratic,  monarchical  days. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  169 

If  he  were  reminded  that  the  fly  was  on  the  wheel 
when  it  was  spun  into  the  War  that  brought 
it  to  an  abrupt  stop,  he  would  answer  that  for  the 
moment  the  wheel  had  got  past  his  control ;  for, 
as  I  have  already  shown,  he  refuses  to  admit  that 
he  sought  the  War,  much  less  was  the  cause  of  it. 
And  he  is  convinced  a  fly  will  get  back  to  the 
wheel,  if  not  the  same  one,  at  least  a  similar  if  less 
brilliantly  coloured  one,  and  then  the  wheel — 
Germany — will  go  merrily  round  again. 

Besides,  he  does  not  consider  himself  to  be  an 
obscure  outcast.  In  his  view,  he  was  hurled  from 
power  in  a  cataclysm  which  was  as  little  to  be 
withstood  as  any  giant  outbreak  of  elemental 
forces  is  by  mortals.  The  expression  "  cosmic 
catastrophe "  expresses  the  wonderment  felt  by 
many  people  as  to  how  the  War  came  about. 
Numbers  in  England  and  on  the  Continent  saw  in 
it  an  exact  fulfilment  of  the  prophecies  of  Scrip- 
ture ;  and,  from  that  standpoint,  those  who  are 
said  to  have  brought  it  about  might  be  described 
as  merely  the  instruments  of  fate.  That  the  wheels 
of  all  Governments  were  rolling  towards  war  was 
forcibly  brought  to  my  notice  in  a  conversation 
I  had  with  an  English  Ambassador  in  the  winter 
of  1909-10.  "  Men's  brains,"  he  said,  "  have  fired 
the  world  ;  have  set  her  rolling  at  such  a  pace  that 
she  is  no  longer  controllable.  Into  what  she  will 
eventually  hurl  herself  it  is  now  impossible  to  fore- 
tell. But  that  it  win  be  some  great  disaster  is  a 
foregone  conclusion." 

After  a  catastrophe  there  is  a  gradual  return 
to  normal.  No  doubt,  in  the  ex-Kaiser's  eyes,  a 
return  to  normal  means  a  return  to  the  Hohen- 


170  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

zoUerns.  So,  though  temporarily  overwhelmed, 
he  has  not  lost  that  sense  of  his  own  importance 
which  is  so  necessary  to  him. 

I  have  laid  stress  on  the  ex-Kaiser's  vanity 
because  I  think  it  is  chiefly  that  very  obvious 
characteristic  of  his  that  has  led  the  world  to  say, 
"  He's  mad  !  " 

Many  obsessions  cause  a  sort  of  madness. 
Immense  wealth  is  one  of  them,  genius  another, 
and  Aristotle  plainly  tells  us  that  "  no  great 
genius  was  without  an  admixture  of  madness." 
Religious  mania  is  dangerous.  Some  of  the  greatest 
mystics  in  the  Middle  Ages  are  to-day  called  crazy 
by  people  who  have  had  neither  time  nor  inclina- 
tion to  study  their  mentality.  Revenge  can  cause 
madness,  as  in  Hamlet  (if  he  was  mad) ;  and  we 
know  the  common  phrase,  "  Madly  in  love." 

All  these  causes  can  incite  and  spur  to  madness, 
but  I  honestly  believe  that  of  all  obsessions  that 
may  turn  that  way  the  insanity  of  vanity  takes 
first  place.  I  cannot  see  that  this  obsession  is 
more  pronounced  in  the  ex-Kaiser  now  than  it 
was  in  the  old  days ;  rather  it  seems  to  me 
less  so. 

To  ridicule  (though  it  had  to  be  heavily 
"  veiled  ")  he  was  continually  being  exposed  by 
his  overweening  vanity — due,  I  suppose,  to  his 
lack  of  a  sense  of  humour,  or  of  proportion,  or,  one 
might  add,  of  seemliness.  I  have  been  told  he 
once  gave  some  Bibles  to  a  garrison  church,  in 
each  of  which  he  wrote  out  the  texts  :  "I  will 
walk  among  you  and  be  your  God,  and  ye  shall  be 
my  people  "  ;  "  Walk  ye  in  all  the  ways  which  I 
have  commanded  you  "  ;    "  Without  me  ye  can 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  171 

do   nothing."      After   each    he   signed   "  Wilhehn 
Imperator  Rex." 

Had  WiUiam  ii.  had  a  real  sense  of  humour 
who  knows  but  that  he  would  still  be  ruling  in 
Germany  ? 

When  I  contrast  the  ex-Emperor  as  he  ap- 
peared to  his  friends  at  Amerongenwith  the  Emperor 
as  he  appeared  to  the  world  before  the  War, 
especially  on  such  extraordinary  occasions  as  his 
visits  to  Jerusalem  and  to  the  Vatican,  I  am 
inclined  to  think  that  he  is  a  very  different  man 
indeed.  He  is  no  longer  under  the  necessity  of 
posturing  as  he  was  before  he  fled  to  Holland. 

He  has  had  many  chastening  experiences. 
Mere  ordinary  social  intercourse  has  had  an  effect. 
Instead  of  talking  from  a  height,  with  everybody 
listening  as  to  a  godhead,  he  can  now  talk  like 
any  ordinary  being,  and,  though  he  is  listened  to 
with  a  certain  amount  of  deference,  he  can  hear, 
in  reply,  ordinary  people's  views — current  opinions 
not  specially  doctored  for  his  benefit. 

In  judging  William  ii.  we  must  not  forget  that 
since  his  childhood  he  has  not  been  robust,  and 
in  these  days  of  health  research  and  eugenics  we 
have  learned  how  greatly  the  mind  is  controlled  by 
our  physical  state.  When  we  ask,  "  Why  is  the 
mind  in  this  state  ?  "  we  must  in  the  answer  take 
heredity  and  environment  and  physical  causes 
into  account. 

One  seeing  the  ex-Kaiser  in  a  casual  way,  and 
not  knowing  who  he  was,  would  describe  him  as 
"  not  a  physically  strong  but  an  exceedingly  virile 
man."  Environment  we  have  dealt  with.  As  to 
heredity,  it  cannot  be  ignored  that  there  was  a 


172  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

strain  of  insanity  in  his  antecedents,  but  this 
terrible  misfortune  must  never  be  accounted  a 
fault. 

"  If  not  mad,  then  he  must  be  very  wicked." 
But  you  would  find  the  ex-Kaiser  unconscious 
of  wickedness.  He  would  ask,  "  What  sort  of 
wickedness  ?  " 

He  did  not,  as  an  individual,  systematically 
break  the  Ten  Commandments.  He  is  very 
religious,  as  I  have  shown  in  preceding  articles. 

His  private  life  has  not  been  marked  by 
scandals,  and  he  was  so  continuously  in  the  lime- 
light, not  always  under  friendly  eyes,  that  viola- 
tions of  the  moral  code  would  not  have  passed 
without  outspoken  comment. 

So  the  charge  would  be  confined  to  political 
and  war  wickedness,  the  causes  of  which  would 
be  inordinate  ambition,  an  insatiable  desire  for 
more  power,  and,  again,  vanity.  (We  are  told 
that  the  only  person  who  does  not  want  "  more  " 
is  an  impecunious  parson  with  nine  unmarried 
daughters  1)  He  protests  that  his  political  aim  was 
the  good  of  Germany  without  the  hurt  of  others  ; 
that  he  tried  to  avoid  the  W^ar  ;  and  that  such 
atrocities  as  occurred  (and  he  denies  that  there 
were  many)  were  the  inevitable  accompaniments 
of  war  which  he  was  powerless  to  prevent  and 
certainly  did  not  incite. 

In  reading  post-war  German  literature  it 
appears  that  many  of  their  wise  and  thoughtful 
men  were  strongly  against  war,  and  were,  more- 
over, very  doubtful  that  the  end  would  mean 
victory  for  Germany. 

Walther  Rathenau  (son  of  the  famous  Emil, 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  173 

head  of  the  General  Electric  Company)  has  just 
written  a  book  *  in  which  the  following  prophetic 
words — said  b}^  him  in  1914 — occm- : 

"  The  moment  will  never  come  in  which  the 
Kaiser  and  his  followers,  as  conquerors  of  the 
world,  will  ride  through  the  Brandenburg  Gate  on 
white  horses.  On  that  day  history  would  have 
gone  mad." 

Again  in  1915,  Strobel,  a  member  of  the 
"  Landtag,"  said : 

"  I  recognise  quite  frankly  that  a  complete 
victory  for  the  Empire  would  not  be  in  the  interests 
of  Social  Democracy." 

Not  only  in  Germany  were  views  of  this  sort 
held,  but  in  "  Entente  "  countries  also,  as  witness 
a  remark  made  by  one  of  their  leading  statesmen : 

"  It  is  perfectly  plain  to  us  that  there  are 
influential  circles  in  Germany  to  whom  nothing 
could  be  worse  than  a  military  victory  for 
Ludendorff." 

And  so  it  seems  that  internal  conditions — 
Socialistic  and  Democratic — had  weakened  the 
Germans  enormously  even  before  our  propaganda 
was  let  loose  amongst  them  ;  and  thus  it  was  to 
a  largely  self -corrupted  Germany  that  we,  during 
the  months  July  to  November  1918,  gave  the  last 
staggering  blow  which  they  were  morally  and 
militarily  too  weak  to  withstand,  all  their  divisions 
being  far  below  their  £'  '   strength. 

Colonel  Bauer  says  of  the  second  Battle  of  the 
Marne  that  "  it  was  the  first  great  disaster,  and 
the  real  turning-point  of  the  War,"  though  in  this 
connection   I   was  told   on  good   authority   that 

^  February  1921. 


174  THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 

many  German  officers  of  the  higher  command 
were  convinced  of  the  inabiHty  of  the  German 
Army  to  win  the  War  as  early  as  1915. 

A  writer  in  the  Militdrwochenblatt  (mihtary 
paper)  summed  up  the  causes  of  their  debacle 
thus  :  "  Our  defeat  has  been  so  complete  because 
the  forces  of  the  Central  Powers  have  been  over- 
taxed and  completely  exhausted  by  the  pursuit 
of  unattainable  military  and  political  aims." 

I  remember  a  discussion  at  Amerongen  about 
the  horrors  which  had  followed  the  outbreak  of 
war  and  the  things  which  had  happened  since — 
mention  being  made  incidentally  of  the  presence, 
so  detested  by  the  Germans,  of  black  troops  upon 
the  Rhine. 

Our  talk  followed  these  lines  :  "  Well,  after 
all,  you  brought  on  the  War.  The  world  was 
happy  and  you  stirred  it  all  up.  Why  did  you  do 
these  terrible  things  ?  " 

Captain  von  Ilsemann's  answer  came  quickly 
and  hotly,  with  a  smashing-down  of  his  fist  on 
the  table.  "  No,"  he  flashed,  "  it  was  you,  it 
was  England,  who  brought  on  the  War." 

It  is  an  article  of  faith  at  Doom  that  England 
made  war  for  commercial  profit,  and  after  the 
Armistice  was  signed  continued  blockading 
Germany  for  months,  thus  ruining  the  health  of 
thousands  of  women  and  children. 

This  conversation  led  me  to  believe  that  it 
was  the  blockade  which  England  carried  on  after 
she  had  signed  which  made  the  feeling  against 
our  country  become  more  bitter  than  it  was  before ; 
their  argument  being  that  "blockade"  is  an  ex- 
tremely potent  and  formidable   act   of   warfare. 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE  175 

and  that  "  armistice,"  on  the  other  hand,  means 
a  "  temporary  cessation  of  hostiUties." 

Curiously  enough  it  was  America  who,  in  the 
world's  history,  has  carried  out  the  most  exten- 
sive blockade  ever  known  before  the  Great  War. 
This  was  done  by  the  Federals  during  the  Civil 
War  in  the  United  States.  It  extended  from  the 
Potomac  to  the  Rio  Grande,  along  the  Atlantic 
coast,  and  over  the  Gulf  of  Mexico — a  distance  of 
3000  miles.     It  lasted  for  four  years. 

And  now  we  will  take  leave  of  the  Imperial 
exile,  so  out  of  tune  with  the  world. 

Many  princes  have  suffered  imprisonment,  and 
worse,  at  the  hands  of  an  outraged  world.  Few, 
we  think,  have  undergone  it  in  such  pleasant 
circumstances,  surrounded  by  people  whose  sym- 
pathy cannot  be  doubted.  Pity,  therefore,  need 
not  be  accorded  to  him. 

From  Doom  his  eyes  are  fixed  on  Berlin. 
From  there,  his  arresting,  vivid,  and  partly 
pathetic  figure  feverishly  looks  to  London,  to 
Paris,  and  then  back  to  Germany.  Can  they  do 
without  him  ?  Which  is  it  best  (or  worst) — to 
have  him  or  not  to  have  him  ? 

The  words  of  Aristophanes  come  to  the  mind 
— "  They  love,  they  hate,  but  cannot  do  without 
him." 

We  wonder  !     "  Qui  vivra  verra  !  " 


PEDIGREE 


F 

El 


(4lh  wife)  Loui^K  i>iiCoi.iiiNV 


=  (3rd  wife)  ClIABlOTTB  D 


KsCeORce  WtLLrAM, 


CK  1.,  King 
1657-1713 

0, 

E 

¥' 

Brundcnbuiu, 
dnid  de  Rcwlc 

(.00)  FKJD.K1C 

W      ,  » 

'■ 

K, 

.ofP 

""» 

(son)  FKBDBRIC 

'.. 

G 

at 

"Kin 

orp>«»» 

ICK  William  11.  (nephew  t>t  Fiedcrick  ihc 
1744-1797  Greol.  King  of  Prussia] 

icK  William  hi..  King  of  Prussin 
1770-1840 

:k  William  iv.,  Kine  of  Pruisin  (became 


o 


APPENDIX 

I.— OUTSTANDING  DATES  OF  THE  EUROPEAN 

WAR 


June 

28      . 

July 

5     • 

28      . 

Aug. 

30  or 
I 

11 

2 

» 

3     • 

» 

Sept. 
Dec. 

4     • 
16     . 
16     . 
24     . 

Feb. 

18     . 

April 
May 

25     . 
7     . 

» 

23     • 

>» 
Aug. 
Sept. 
Oct. 

1  : 

25    . 
14    . 

55 
55 

Dec. 

19    . 

28    . 
15    • 

55 

19    • 

5> 

25    . 

Feb. 

21    . 

April 
May 

29    . 
31    • 

June 

5    • 

July 
Aug. 

I     . 

27    • 

4TH  August  1914-9TH  November  1918 

1914 

.  Archduke  Franz  Ferdinand  shot  at  Sarajevo. 

.  Kaiser's  War  Council  at  Potsdam. 

.  Austria  declared  War  on  Servia. 

31    .  Russia  declared  War  on  Germany. 

.  Germany  declared  War  on  Russia. 

.  Germany's  Ultimatum  to  Belgium. 

.  Germany  declared  War  on  France. 

.  Great  Britain  declared  War  on  Germany. 

.  British  troops  landed  in  France. 

.  First  Battle  of  the  Marne  begun. 

.  First  Air  Raid  on  England  (Sheringham). 

1915 

"  U  "  Boat  blockade  of  England. 

Allied  landing  in  Gallipoli. 

Lusitania  sunk. 

Italy  declared  War  on  Austria. 

Coalition  Cabinet  formed. 

New  landing  at  Suvla  Bay. 

Battle  of  Loos. 

Bulgaria  at  War  with  Servia. 

Lord  Derby  on  the  49  Groups. 

M.  Briand,  French  Premier. 

Sir  Douglas  (now  Earl)  Haig,  C.-in-C.  in  France. 

Withdrawal  from  Gallipoli. 

Turkish  defeat  at  Kut. 

1916 

.  Battle  of  Verdun  begun. 

.  Fall  of  Kut-el-Amara. 

.  Battle  of  Jutland. 

.  Lord  Kitchener,  Colonel  Fitzgerald,  and  Mr.  O'Byrne 

lost  at  sea  on  their  way  to  Russia. 

.  Battle  of  Somme  begun. 

.  Rumania  entered  War. 

23 


178 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXII E 


Nov. 

29 

Dec. 

5 

)i 

7 

>» 

12 

„ 

20 

Feb. 


Dec. 


5J 

3 

»5 

24 

March 

II 

)5 

12 

)5 

15 

April 

6 

)5 

9 

June 

12 

July 

14 

» 

17 

Aug. 

29 

Oct. 

24 

Nov. 

6 

9 
26 


1916  {continued) 

Grand  Fleet  under  Sir  David  (now  Earl)  Beatty. 

Resignation  of  Mr.  Asquith. 

Mr.  Lloyd  George  becomes  Prime  Minister. 

German  "  Peace  proposals." 

President  Wilson's  Peace  Note. 

1917 

Unrestricted  "  U  "  Boat  warfare  begun. 

America  breaks  with  Germany. 

British  take  Kut-el-Amara. 

British  entered  Baghdad. 

Revolution  in  Russia. 

Abdication  of  Czar. 

America  declared  War  on  Germany. 

Battle  of  Vimy  Ridge  begun. 

Abdication  of  King  of  Greece. 

Bethmann  Hollweg  (German  Chancellor)  dismissed. 

British  Royal  House  dropped  their  family  name  of 

Saxe-Coburg-Gotha     and     adopted     that     of 

"Windsor." 
President  Wilson's  Note  to  the  Pope  (Benedict  xiv.). 
Italian  defeat  at  Caporetto. 
British  stormed  Passchendale  Ridge. 
British  capture  Gaza. 
Pjolshevist    Coup  crctat   in    Russia    (a    year   before 

the  German  Revolution,  which  started  at  Kiel, 

Nov.  6,  1918). 
General     Maude     (Coldstream     Guards)    died     in 

Mesopotamia. 
British  capture  Jerusalem. 
Sir  Rosslyn  Wemyss  (now  Lord  Wester  Wemyss), 

First  Sea  Lord. 


Feb. 

9 
16 

March 

21 
21 

April 

14 

>> 
May 

22 
27 

5) 

July 

31 

2 

)> 

15 

18 


Sept.      12 

15 
29 

»         30 


1918 

First  Brest  Litvosk  Treaty  signed. 

General  Sir  Henry  Wilson,  Chief  of  Staff. 

British  capture  Jericho. 

German  offensive  in  the  West. 

General  Foch  becomes  Allied  Generalissimo. 

Naval  raid  on  Zeebrugge  and  Ostend. 

Second  German  offensive. 

Germans  reach  the  Marne. 

1,000,000  Americans  shipped  to  France. 

Third  German  offensive.     Second  Battle  of  Marne 

begun.     (Beginning  of  the  end  for  Germany.) 
General    Foch's   counter-attack.     ("  If    we    can    no 

longer  defend,  then  we  must  attack."  H  is  words.) 
American  attack  on  St.  Mihiel. 
Austrian  Peace  Note. 
Hindenburg  Line  broken. 
Fall  of  Damascus. 


APPENDIX 


179 


II 

5  a.m. 

II 

i6 

p.m 

1918  {continiiut) 

Oct.        25     .         .     General  Ludenelorff  lesigncd. 

„  28     .         .     Italians  cross  Piave. 

Nov.        I     .         .     Versailles  Conference  opened. 

„  4     .         .     Versailles  Armistice  a^i^reed. 

„  5     •         •     Full  powers  to  deal  with  situation  given  to  Marshal 

Foch.     Mr.  Wilson's  last  Note  to  Germany. 

„  6     .         .     Revolution  at  Kiel. 

,,  9     .         .     Foch  received  German  envoys. 

„  9    .         .     Prince  Max  of  Baden  proclaims  abdication  of  Kaiser. 

„  10         a.m.  Kaiser  arrives  early  morning  at  Eysden,  Belgian 

Dutch  frontier. 

„  10        p.m.  Count  Godard  Bentinck  asked  to  give  him  hospitality 

for  three  days. 
Armistice  tenns  accepted. 
Kaiser  arrives  at  Amerongen. 

The  Echo  de  Paris  published  an  interview  with 
Lord  Robert  Cecil,  who  said  that  "  the  ex- 
tradition of  the  Kaiser  could  not  be  legally 
demanded,  but  it  might  be  requested  as  a 
favour." 

„  21  .  .  The  Hague  (from  Times  special  correspondent)  : 
"The  Prime  Minister  to-day  declared  in  refer- 
ence to  the  ex-Kaiser's  stay,  that  the  ex-Kaiser 
is  a  private  person,  and  that  it  is  at  the  Govern- 
ment's request  that  Count  Godard  Bentinck  is 
giving  him  hospitality.  This  was  nothing  else 
than  the  customary  national  tradition  rooted 
in  the  Dutch  people's  sense  of  freedom  and 
toleration.'" 
„  28  .  .  Kaiser  abdicates  at  Amerongen.  He  remained 
here  for  eighteen  months.  In  the  summer  of 
1920  he  went  to  live  at  Doom,  near  Utrecht. 

1919 

June  28,  at  3.12  p.m.  Peace  was  signed  in  the  Galerie  des  Glaces,  Ver- 
sailles, where,  in  1871,  the  ex-Kaiser's  grand- 
father   had    been    declaied   German    Emperor 
after  the  Franco-Prussian  War  which  had  been 
declared   by   Napoleon    ill.  on  July   iS,   1870. 
On  the  same  day  Pius  ix.  confirmed  the  decree 
of    Papal    Infallibility.      Italian    troops    took 
possession  of  Rome   on    September   20.     The 
Pope  prorogued  the  Vatican  Council  on  October 
20,  and  it  has  never  reassembled. 
A  large  number  of  delegates  signed  the  Peace,  the  first  signature 
being  that  of  Hermann  Miiller,  German  Foreign  Minister,  then  came 
Dr.  Bell,  then  the  five  American  delegates,  and  after  them  the  English 
signed,  of  whom  were  Mr.  Lloyd  George,  Mr.  Bonar  Law,  Mr.  Balfour, 
Lord  Milner,  and  Mr.  Barnes,  followed  by  the  Domniion  signatories. 
Then  came  the  French,  of  whom  was  M.  Clemenceau,  the  only  man 
of  all  that  company  who  had  been  present  at  the  German  Peace  of  1870. 
Other  allied  delegates  followed,  ending  with  Czecho-Slovakia. 


180 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 


LIST  OF  KINGS  WHO  HAVE  ABDICATED   WITHIN 
THE  LAST  THOUSAND  YEARS 


Only  those  of  the  most  remarkable  Character  and  the 
greatest  political  importance  are  given 


1080 
III4 
II42 
1200 
1206 
1306 
1309 

1439 
144I 
1556 
1654 
1669 
1688 
1704 
1724 
1730 
1759 
1795 
1802 
1804 


1808 
1808 

1808 
1808 

1810 
1813 
1814 
182I 
1826 
1830 
1831 

1834 
1840 
1840 

1848 
1848 
1848 
1849 
1859 
1866 


Henry  iv.  of  Germany  (Emperor). 
Stephen  li.  of  Hungary. 
Albert  of  Saxony. 
Lestus  V.  of  Poland. 
Vladislas  in.  of  Poland. 
Baliol  of  Scotland. 
Otho  of  Hungary. 
Eric  IX.  of  Denmark. 
Eric  XIII.  of  Sweden. 
Charles  v.  (Emperor). 
Christina  of  Sweden. 
John  Cosimer  of  Poland. 
James  li.  of  England. 
Frederic  Augustus  li.  of  Poland. 
Philip  V.  of  Spain. 
Victor  of  Sardinia. 
Charles  of  Naples. 
Stanislas  of  Poland. 
Victor  of  Sardinia. 

Francis  ll.  of  Germany  (Emperor).     End  of  "  Holy 
Roman   Empire."      He   becomes   Emperor   of 
Austria  only. 
Charles  iv.  of  Spain,  in  favour  of  his  son. 

,,  „       again   abdicates   in   favour  of 

Buonapartes. 
Joseph  Buonaparte  to  take  the  crown  of  Spain. 
„  „  on  flying  before  the  British  from 

Madrid. 

Louis  of  Holland  (Buonaparte). 
Jerome  of  Westphalia  (Buonaparte). 

Napoleon  the  Great. 

Emmanuel  of  Sardinia. 

Pedro  of  Portugal. 

Charles  x.  of  France. 

Pedro  of  Brazil. 

Dom  Miguel  of  Portugal  (by  leaving  the  country). 

William  l.  of  Holland. 

Christina  of  Spain — Queen    Dowager   and  Queen 
Regent. 

Louis- Philippe  of  France. 

Louis  Charles  of  Bavaria. 

Ferdinand  of  Austria. 

Charles  Albert  of  Sardinia. 

Leopold  II.  of  Tuscany. 

Bernard  of  Saxe-Meiningen. 


APPENDIX 


181 


1870,  June  25 
1873,  Feb.  II 
1886,  Sept.  7 
18S9,  March  9 
1907,  July  19 
1909,  April     27 

1909,  July       16 

1910,  Oct.  5 
191 7,  March  15 

1917,  June  12,  re- 
instated 1920 

igi8,  Oct.        4    • 

1918,  Nov.*  9  . 
1918,  „  12  . 
1918,     „        29    . 


Isabella  il.  of  Spain. 
Amadeus  of  Spain. 
Alexander  of  Bulgaria. 
Milan  of  Serbia. 
Emperor  of  Korea. 
Abdul  Hamid  li.  (Turkey). 
Muhammed  Ali  Shah. 
ManoeP  (Portugal). 
Nicholas  11.  (Russia). 
Constantine  (Greece). 

Ferdinand  (Bulgaria). 
William  ii.  (Germany). 
Charles  (Austria). 
Nicholas  (Montenegro).' 


1  Deprived  of  throne  by  Revolutionary  coup  d'dtat. 
"^  In  reality,  Nov.  28,  at  Amerongen,  Holland. 
*  Was  deposed  by  the  Congress  Podgoritsa, 


182 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 


II.— CASUALTIES  ()F  THE  GREAT  WAR 


What  millions  died  that 


Countries. 

Names  of  Reigning  House 

(Prc-War), 

Showing  how  German  families 

preponderated. 

Dead,  includ- 
ing died  from 
Wounds  and 
Sickness. 

Missing. 

America    .     . 

President  Wilson. 

107,284 

4,912 

Austria 

Loraine  (Hapsburg  female   line 
only). 

687,534 

855,283 

Belgium    .     . 

Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. 

267,000 

10,000 

Britain      .     . 

Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. 

851,117 

142,057 

Bulgaria    .     . 

Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. 

101,224 

10,825 

I'rance 

President  Poincare. 

1,039,600 

245,900 

Germany  ,     . 

Ilohenzollern. 

1,600,000 

721,000 

Greece      .     . 

Slesvig-Holstein,     Sonderburg- 
Glucksburg. 

15,000 

45,000 

Italy     .      .      , 

Savoy. 

462,391 

569,216 

Japan  .     .     . 

300 

3 

Portugal    . 

Saxe-Coburg-Gotha      (Braganza 
female  line  only). 

8,367 

Rumania  . 

Hoheiiiollern. 

32,000 

1 16,000 

Russia .      .     . 

Holstein  -  Gottorp        (Romanov 
female  line  only). 

1,700,000 

2,500,000 

Servia  ■^     . 

Kara  Georgovitch. 

707,343 

100,000 

Turkey      .     . 

Memalik-y-  Osmaniy  e . 

436,974 

103,731 

' 

8,016,134 

5,424,027 

•  Exclusive  of  Greeks  living  in  Turkey  and  Asia  Minor. 

^  Servia's/oj^-war  population,  larger  than  her 


APPENDIX 


18S 


AND  SOME  OTHER  FIGURES 

Ccesar  might  be  great." — Thomas  Campbell 


Wounded. 

Totals. 

Population. 

Notes. 

191,000 

303,196 

150,253,300 

Republic. 

2,500,000 

4,042,817 

41,221,342 

Austrian  Empire  since  1804, 
previously  part  of  the 
"  Empire." 

140,000 

417,000 

7,423,784 

Kingdom  since  183 1. 

2,067,442 

2,960,616 

45,516,250 

Style  of  King  of  England,  first 
used  by  Egbert,  a.d.  828. 

1.152,399 

1,264,448 

4,337,513 

Kingdom  since  1887. 

2,560,000 

3.845,500 

39,192,133 

Republic  (on  and  off)  since  1793. 

4,064,000 

6,385,000 

62,826,162 

Empire  since  1870. 

40,000 

100,000 

2,631,952^ 

Constitutional  Monarch  estab- 
lished 1830. 

953,886 

4,385,487 

36,456,437 

United  in  1861. 

907 

1,210 

79,058,090 

Has  had  a  reigning  dynasty  for 
more  than  2571  years. 

... 

,5,500,000 

Republic  since  1910. 

200,000 

648,000 

7,509,009 

Kingdom  since  188 1. 

4,950,000 

9,150,000 

122,000,000- 

Tsar :  first  definitely  adopted 
for  title  of  Russian  rulers  by 
Ivan  the  Terrible  in  1547. 

350,000 

1,157,343 

1,733,865 

ICingdom  since  1882. 

407,772 

948,477 

18,053,404 

Empire  in  Europe  since  14th 
century. 

19.577,406 

35,609,094 

2  In  Europe  without  Poland. 
pre-war  one,  is  estimated  at  4,690,733. 


184 


THE  EX-KAISER  IN  EXILE 


The  following  interesting  figures  are  taken  from  the  First 
Annual  Report  on  the  Armv  issued  since  the  War.  The 
DATE  IS  April  1921. 

The  total  number  of  men  recruited  in  the  three  kingdoms 
from  4th  August  1914  to  11th  November  1<)18  was  4,970,902. 

The  contributions  of  tlie  various  countries  and  the  percentage 
of  enlistments  to  population  were  as  follows  : 


...... 

England   .     . 

Numbers  Recruited. 

Percentage  of 

Total  Population. 

Male  Population. 

4,006,15s 

11-57 

24-02 

Wales  .     .     . 

272,924 

10-96 

21-52 

Scotland  .     . 

S57,6i8 

II -50 

23-71 

Ireland      .     . 

134,202 

3 '07 

6-14 

Out  of  the  whole  Army,  335  culprits  were  sentenced  to  death, 
7338  sentenced  to  penal  servitude — 140  for  life. 

On  1st  October  19 18,  including  Territorial  Force  and  exclud- 
ing Dominion  and  Indian  troops,  the  numbers  were  3,838,265,  of 
whom  147,738  were  oHicers. 

The  maximum  strength  was  attained  at  the  beginning  of  19I8, 
when  the  total  stood  at  3,887,649 — 154,777  being  officers,  and 
3,732,872  other  ranks. 

The  casualties  among  officers  were  : 


Killed 

Wounded 

Missing 


33,337 

74,082 
9,362 


"We  thank  and  bless  Thee,  Lord, 
For  those  the  brave  and  true 
Who,  eager  at  their  country's  call, 
Strong,  undismayed,  surrendered  all. 
Grant  them  eternal  rest." 


PRINTED    BY    MORRISON    AND   GIBB    LTD.    EDINBURGH 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

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